There Is an Hour of Peaceful Rest

There is an hour of peaceful rest

There Is an Hour of Peaceful Rest is a hymn text by William Cowper (1779) in C.M. meter. Found in lw 277, tlh 617.

The hymn proclaims the Gospel promise of eschatological rest found in Christ's redemptive work, connecting Old Testament Sabbath anticipation with New Testament fulfillment. It exemplifies Lutheran emphasis on justification's assurance, offering the weary sinner comfort in Christ's sufficiency for salvation.

History & Background

William Cowper composed this hymn in 1779 as part of the Olney Hymns collection published with John Newton. The text gained prominence in Lutheran hymnals through 19th-century English tradition and was included in The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) as hymn 617.

Hymnal Appearances

Lutheran Worship — 277
The Lutheran Hymnal — 617

Bulletin Note

William Cowper (1779) draws the Old Testament Sabbath forward into eschatological fulfillment. A poet of profound personal faith forged through spiritual struggle, Cowper crafts this hymn as testimony to Christ's sufficiency for the weary soul.

Preaching Connection

This hymn moves the congregation from the Law's exposure of human restlessness and striving to the Gospel's proclamation of Christ as our Sabbath rest, making it a powerful response to any sermon on justification by grace alone.

Catechism & Confessional Connections

The Third Commandment Small Catechism — Ten Commandments

Background Research

AI-assisted draft This background note was researched with AI from published hymnal sources and has not yet been checked line by line. Please verify details such as dates before relying on them.

TLH 617. William Bingham Tappan (1794–1849), American poet, dated 1818 (index: New England and Other Poems, 1818/19). Anthologised as verse in An American Anthology 1787–1900 and the Yale Book of American Verse (1912). It was also in the early Latter Day Saints hymnbooks (1841, no. 239; 1844, to WOODLAND by N. D. Gould, 1840) (HymnWiki). The "hour of peaceful rest" is death and heaven for the believer. From memory: Tappan worked for the American Sunday School Union and was licensed to preach by the Congregationalists in 1840; also wrote "'Tis midnight, and on Olive's brow". Some books (ALH 1930) recast it as "There is an hour of hallowed peace".

AI-assisted draft These study notes were drafted with AI from the hymn text and have not yet been reviewed line by line. Treat them as a starting point and check them against the sources.

Overview

An early American hymn of heavenly hope by William Bingham Tappan. Each stanza ends on 'heav'n.' There is rest for mourning wanderers and balm for wounded hearts in heaven (st. 1); a home for souls driven by sin and sorrow when life's sea is stormy (st. 2). Faith lifts tearless eyes and watches the storm pass (st. 3). Beyond the tomb appears the dawn of heaven (st. 4).

Central theme: Heaven as rest, home and dawn for the sorrowing and storm-tossed

Structure

Four five-line stanzas (8.6.8.8.6), each ending with 'heav'n.' Rest (1); home (2); faith's view (3); dawn beyond the tomb (4).

Law & Gospel Shape

Law: 'mourning'; 'distrest'; 'By sin and sorrow driv'n'; 'storms' (1-2). Gospel: 'balm for ev'ry wounded breast'; 'a home for weary souls'; 'the dawn of heav'n' (1-2, 4).

Confessional Connections

Heb 4:9 (TLH's text). The hymn's comfort is real but thin on Christ. Faith is mentioned (st. 3) but its object is not named, so in Lutheran use it is best read with heaven's rest as Christ's gift. Christ 'brought life and immortality to light through the gospel' (2 Tim 1:10), and 'blessed are the dead who die in the Lord' (Rev 14:13). 'By sin and sorrow driv'n' (st. 2) names the double need, guilt and grief, that only Christ's forgiveness and resurrection meet (AC IV; AC XVII). St. 4: 'Beyond the confines of the tomb' affirms life after death; pair it with a hymn on the bodily resurrection.

Liturgical Use (Study Notes)

Funerals; times of sorrow; All Saints.

Historical Notes

Tappan (1794-1849), American poet and Congregational licentiate, published it in New England and Other Poems (1818/1819).

About the Tune

PAX CELESTE (Celestial Harps, Edinburgh, 1824; as named in TLH).

Scripture References

Heb 4:9 Rev 14:13 Jer 8:22 Ps 147:3 John 14:2 Ps 107:23-30 Mark 4:37-39 Rev 21:4 Heb 11:1 2 Cor 4:17-18 Rev 22:2 1 Cor 15:54-55 2 Tim 1:10 Mal 4:2

Stanza by Stanza

1 There is an hour of peaceful rest…

There is an hour of peaceful rest given to grieving wanderers; there is joy for distressed souls and balm for every wounded heart. It is found above, in heaven.

'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord… that they may rest' (Rev 14:13). 'Is there no balm in Gilead?' (Jer 8:22). 'He heals the brokenhearted' (Ps 147:3).

Scripture: Heb 4:9, Rev 14:13, Jer 8:22, Ps 147:3
Imagery & language: Peaceful rest; mourning wanderers; joy; balm; heaven.
Law / Gospel: Gospel: heaven's healing.
Connection to previous: Rest.

heaven rest comfort

2 There is a home for weary souls,…

There is a home for weary souls driven by sin and sorrow, when they are tossed on life's stormy shoals, when storms rise and the ocean rolls, and everything is dreary except heaven.

'They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths… He made the storm be still' (Ps 107:26-29). 'In my Father's house are many rooms' (John 14:2).

Scripture: John 14:2, Ps 107:23-30, Mark 4:37-39
Imagery & language: Home; weary souls; sin and sorrow; tempestuous shoals; all drear but heaven.
Law / Gospel: Law: sin and sorrow. Gospel: a home.
Connection to previous: Home.

heaven suffering sin

3 There faith lifts up the tearless eye,…

There faith lifts tearless eyes to brighter prospects and watches the storm pass by and the evening shadows quickly fly, and everything is calm in heaven.

'He will wipe away every tear' (Rev 21:4). 'We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen' (2 Cor 4:18).

Scripture: Rev 21:4, Heb 11:1, 2 Cor 4:17-18
Imagery & language: Faith; tearless eye; tempest passing; serene.
Law / Gospel: Gospel: tears ended.
Connection to previous: Tearless eye.

faith hope heaven

4 There fragrant flow'rs immortal bloom,…

There fragrant flowers bloom forever and the highest joys are given; there divine light scatters the gloom; beyond the boundary of the tomb, the dawn of heaven appears.

'The tree of life… the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations' (Rev 22:2). 'Death is swallowed up in victory' (1 Cor 15:54). 'Christ Jesus… abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel' (2 Tim 1:10).

Scripture: Rev 22:2, 1 Cor 15:54-55, 2 Tim 1:10, Mal 4:2
Imagery & language: Immortal flowers; joys; rays divine; beyond the tomb; dawn.
Law / Gospel: Gospel: dawn beyond death.
Connection to previous: Dawn of heaven.

heaven victory over death

Themes

Sabbath rest Heavenly peace Redemption through Christ Eternal hope Gospel comfort

Look Further

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