Even-song
Blessed Be the God of Love
The speaker blesses God for the gifts of sight and strength, then marvels that God gave him sight while denying it to Himself, and that he has God's Son while God has none.
Blessed be the God of love, who gave me eyes and light and strength today, both to work and to play. But much more blessed be God above, The one who gave me sight alone, which he denied himself: for when he sees my ways, I die. But I have his Son, and he has none.
What Have I Brought?
The speaker confesses that his efforts to repay God's love have yielded only emptiness and turmoil, like foam and wildfire.
What have I brought you home for this love of yours? Have I paid the debt that today's favor created?1 I ran; but all I brought was foam.2 Your diet, care, and cost end in bubbles, balls of wind—wind to you, who I have crossed, but balls of wildfire to my troubled mind.34
Rest in the Ebony Box
God mercifully closes the day with rest, enclosing the speaker in darkness until morning brings renewal and correction.
Yet you keep going, and now, as darkness closes your weary eyes, you say to yourself, It’s enough: rest now; your work is done. So in your ebony box you enclose us, until the day puts our amendment in our way and gives new wheels to our disordered clocks.
All Love
The speaker wonders whether day or night shows more love, then affirms that God is entirely love and that in this love he finds deeper rest than in sleep.
I wonder which shows more love, the day or the night: that is the gale, this the harbor; that is the walk, and this the arbor; or that the garden, this the grove. My God, you are all love.✦ Not one poor minute escapes your heart without bringing a favor from above. And in this love I rest more than I rest in bed.✦5
Read the original English
BLest be the God of love, Who gave me eyes, and light, and power this day, Both to be busie, and to play. But much more blest be God above,
Who gave me sight alone, Which to himself he did denie: For when he sees my waies, I die: But I have got his sonne, and he hath none.
What have I brought thee home For this thy love? have I discharg'd the debt, Which this dayes favour did beget? I ranne; but all I brought, was fome.
Thy diet, care, and cost Do end in bubbles, balls of winde; Of winde to thee whom I have crost, But balls of wilde-fire to my troubled minde.
Yet still thou goest on, And now with darknesse closest wearie eyes, Saying to man, It doth suffice: Henceforth repose; your work is done.
Thus in thy Ebony box Thou dost inclose us, till the day Put our amendment in our way, And give new wheels to our disorder'd clocks.
I muse, which shows more love, The day or night: that is the gale, this th'harbour; That is the walk, and this the arbour; Or that the garden, this the grove.
My God, thou art all love. Not one poore minute scapes thy breast, But brings a favour from above: And in this love, more then in bed, I rest.
Scripture echoes
Notes
- 1 ↩discharg'd the debt retains the commercial/moral sense of settling an obligation incurred by the day's favor; 'paid' keeps that force in plain English without inventing repayment imagery beyond the source.
- 2 ↩fome is Early Modern spelling of foam (empty froth); next stanza's bubbles/balls of wind confirm the emptiness image, so foam is preferred over inventing a different noun.
- 3 ↩diet: early-modern sense of daily provision/sustenance given by God, not a food regimen; cost: outlay/expense of that care.
- 4 ↩crost rendered crossed: offended/thwarted God; the empty return is mere wind before God, but scorches the speaker's conscience like wildfire.
- 5 ↩Source 'breast' rendered as 'heart' for contemporary clarity while keeping the seat of divine love; 'scapes' modernized as 'escapes'; early-modern 'then' read as 'than'.
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