Now the Light has Gone Away
Now the light has gone away
Now the Light has Gone Away is a hymn text by Frances Ridley Havergal (1870) in 7.7.7.7 meter. Found in CW21 784, CW93 593, ELH 570, elw 285.
The hymn expresses childlike trust in God's protective care during hours of darkness and vulnerability, reflecting Lutheran emphasis on faith in God's providence. It grounds confidence in God's presence through the day's end, connecting evening prayer to the Christian life's journey toward eternal rest.
History & Background
Written by Frances Ridley Havergal in the mid-19th century as a simple evening prayer hymn for children. The hymn first appeared in her collection of children's hymns and has been widely adopted in Lutheran hymnals since its composition.
Hymnal Appearances
- Christian Worship: Hymnal — 784
- Christian Worship — 593
- Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary — 570
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 285
- Lutheran Service Book — 887
- Lutheran Worship — 503
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 653
Bulletin Note
Written by Frances Ridley Havergal in 1870, this evening prayer hymn distills childlike trust in God's protective care. Its tender theology reflects Luther's emphasis on faith resting in divine providence, not human strength.
Preaching Connection
This hymn deepens a sermon on God's providence by translating the comfort of the Gospel—God's vigilant grace—into the concrete, intimate experience of nighttime rest, transforming our natural human fear of darkness into an act of faith.
Overview
A child's evening prayer by the English poet Frances Ridley Havergal, set in TLH to the German children's tune MÜDE BIN ICH. In five simple stanzas it asks the Father for protection and sleep (st. 1); asks Jesus to wash away the day's wrongs and make the child more like him (st. 2); commends loved ones to God (st. 3); gives evening thanks to the one who 'didst die that I might live' (st. 4); and ends with the Friend who loves to the end (st. 5). It covers the same ground as Luther's Evening Prayer — thanks, forgiveness, protection — in a child's words.
Central theme: A child's evening prayer: protection, forgiveness through Jesus, intercession for loved ones, and thanks
Structure
Five 7.7.7.7 quatrains. Protection (1) — confession and forgiveness (2) — intercession (3) — thanks for Christ's death (4) — Christ's lasting love (5).
Law & Gospel Shape
Law: 'All that has been wrong today' (2). Gospel: 'Jesus, Savior, wash away'; 'Thou didst die that I might live' (2, 4).
Confessional Connections
Luther's Evening Prayer (SC): 'I thank You… that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night.' Daily repentance and forgiveness (SC Baptism IV: 'the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned'). Christ died for us (SC Second Article). Children are taught to pray as baptized members of the Church (AC IX).
Liturgical Use (Study Notes)
Evening; children's prayer; bedtime; Christian education.
Historical Notes
Havergal (1836-1879) wrote 'Take My Life and Let It Be' and many children's hymns. The tune comes from a songbook for infant schools published at Kaiserswerth (1842), associated with Luise Hensel's German bedtime prayer 'Müde bin ich, geh zur Ruh.'
About the Tune
MÜDE BIN ICH (Liederbuch für Kleinkinder-Schulen, Kaiserswerth, 1842).
Scripture References
Ps 3:5 Ps 4:8 Ps 121:4-5 1 John 1:7-9 Eph 4:26 Rom 8:29 1 Tim 2:1 John 14:2-3 2 Cor 5:15 1 Thess 5:10 Jas 1:17 John 13:1 John 15:15 Phil 1:9
Stanza by Stanza
The light is gone now; Father, listen while I pray, asking you to watch over me and keep me, and to send me quiet sleep.
Ps 3:5 (TLH's text): 'I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.' Ps 4:8. The God 'who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep' (Ps 121:4) — so the child can.
- Scripture
- Ps 3:5, Ps 4:8, Ps 121:4-5
- Imagery & language
- Darkness; watch; sleep.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — the Father's keeping.
- Connection to previous
- Protection.
Jesus, Savior, wash away everything I did wrong today; help me every day to be good and gentle, more like you.
Daily confession and forgiveness (1 John 1:9) — 'do not let the sun go down on your anger' (Eph 4:26). 'Wash away' — the baptismal language of cleansing (Acts 22:16). The prayer to be 'more like Thee' follows forgiveness, as sanctification follows justification (Rom 8:29).
- Scripture
- 1 John 1:7-9, Acts 22:16, Eph 4:26, Rom 8:29
- Imagery & language
- Washing; good and gentle.
- Law / Gospel
- Law — the day's wrongs; Gospel — Jesus washes.
- Connection to previous
- Forgiveness.
Let the people near and dear to me always be near and dear to you. Bring me and everyone I love to your happy home above.
Intercession (1 Tim 2:1) — a child learns to pray for others. The goal is heaven together (John 14:2-3).
- Scripture
- 1 Tim 2:1, John 14:2-3, Acts 16:31
- Imagery & language
- Loved ones; happy home.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — intercession.
- Connection to previous
- Loved ones.
Now I give my evening praise; you died so that I might live. All my blessings come from you; how good you are to me!
The center of the hymn: 'Thou didst die that I might live' (2 Cor 5:15; 1 Thess 5:10). Every blessing from God (Jas 1:17). Thanks as the first word of Luther's Evening Prayer.
- Scripture
- 2 Cor 5:15, 1 Thess 5:10, Jas 1:17, Ps 92:1-2
- Imagery & language
- Evening praise; death for life.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — Christ's death for me.
- Connection to previous
- Thanks.
You, my best and kindest friend, will love me to the end. Let me love you more and more, always better than before.
'Having loved his own… he loved them to the end' (John 13:1). Christ calls us friends (John 15:15). The prayer to love more (Phil 1:9) rests on his prior love (1 John 4:19).
- Scripture
- John 13:1, John 15:15, 1 John 4:19, Phil 1:9
- Imagery & language
- Kindest Friend; love to the end.
- Law / Gospel
- Gospel — Christ's lasting love.
- Connection to previous
- Friend.
Themes
Evening prayer Divine protection Trust in God Rest and peace Childhood innocence