When Morning Gilds the Skies

Sunrise in Guatemala City!

 When morning gilds the skies, my heart awaking cries:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Alike at work and prayer, to Jesus I repair:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

gild

verb (used with object), gilded or gilt, gilding.

1. to coat with gold, gold leaf, or a gold-colored substance.

2. to give a bright, pleasing, or specious aspect to.

This hymn was written by a German author whose name has been lost in time.  It first appeared in a Roman Catholic hymnal, Catholisches Gesangbuch in 1828.  That hymnal originated in Wurzburg, on the Main River near Frankfurt.  That is lovely country, with hills and streams.  It's no wonder that a poet, seeing that beauty, would be inspired to write a hymn praising God for natural wonders.

But the hymn celebrates more than natural wonders.  It calls us to praise God whether we are at work or at prayer –– whether in the night or the day –– even when faced with the powers of darkness, which lose their power when subjected to praise to God.  It calls us to praise God "thro' all the ages long."

taken from "history of an hymn"