ANOTHER YEAR IS DAWNING

DECEMBER 31

ANOTHER YEAR IS DAWNING

Author: Frances Ridley Havergal [1836-1879]

Date of Writing: 1859

Music & Metre: Dedication: 7.5.7.5 D

                1              Another year is dawning: Dear Father, let it be,

                In working or in waiting, another year with Thee;

                Another year of progress, another year of praise,

                Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

                2              Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace;

                Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;

                Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;

                Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

3              Another year of service, of witness for Thy love;

                Another year of training for holier work above.                                              Another year is dawning: Dear Father, let it be,

                On earth or else in heaven, another year for Thee.

                                                                [Frances Ridley Havergal]

IT IS ALWAYS challenging to approach a new year and to realize anew that out days upon this earth are rapidly passing. How important it is that we pause with the psalmist and pray for a heart of wisdom. That will enable us in the new year to live each day in a way that will bring glory to the name of our Lord, our Creator, our Redeemer and our Sanctifier. Frances Ridley Havergal enjoyed New Year’s Day. It was a day of promise, looking forward in faith to God’s blessing in the coming twelve months. One New Year’s Eve, when Frances was twenty-three, she and her sister Maria sat together listening to the church bells. Maria said that her Bible verse for that year would be “As thy days, so shall thy strength be” (KJV). Inspired by her sister’s reading, Frances composed this poem: “As thy days thy strength shall be; this should be enough for thee. He who knows thy frame will spare burdens more than thou canst bear.” New Year’s Day was also the source for today’s hymn, “Another Year Is Dawning,” which she wrote on a card she was sending to a friend. Frances Havergal died when she was only forty-three. Even at the end of her life she remained steadfast in reminding Christians that “fresh glory” is just as important as fresh air and fresh water. We need to celebrate God’s glorious mercies each new day as well as each New Year. He will protect us from being overwhelmed by the dangers and pain of life.