DOCTRINES >> SABBATH
SDAH 393
Lord of the Sabbath and its light,
I hail Thy hallowed day of rest;
It is my weary soul’s delight,
The solace of my careworn breast,
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For Worship Leaders
Make each hymn more meaningful with these helpful tools: Short, ready-to-use hymn introductions for church bulletins, multiple ways to introduce a hymn based on your worship theme and in-depth history and insights to enrich your song service.
Hymn Spotlight: Lord of the Sabbath
This anonymous hymn invites us to experience Sabbath not just as physical rest, but as soul-deep peace in Christ’s presence. With poetic language and biblical depth, it reflects on the double blessing of the seventh day—set apart at Creation and sanctified by communion with the Savior. Paired with the majestic tune PARK STREET, it lifts the worshiper from earthly cares to spiritual calm, making it a treasured part of Adventist Sabbath worship since the 19th century.
📖 Reference: Feel free to share but please cite hymnsforworship.org when reproducing.
Introductions for Sabbath School Song Service (based on specific lesson quarterlies):
The anonymous author of this hymn has expanded the simple literal meaning of the Sabbath as a day of rest from physical labor and referred to its deeper spiritual meaning-a day of rest for the soul, a time when the cares of this life are lost in the calm that accompanies peace of mind. The double blessing mentioned in the last stanza refers to that first pronounced upon the Sabbath after it was given in Eden-“God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it” (Gen. 2:3)-joined to the concept of the presence of Jesus with us as we worship Him. First printed in an Evangelical Lutheran hymnal in 1860, the hymn has been used in America only in SDA hymnals, in 1876, 1881, 1886, and 1941.
PARK STREET is named after an old Puritan meetinghouse Street, Boston, known as a stronghold of orthodoxy. The arrangement made in 1820 by the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, from an original melody composed in 1810 by Frederick Marco Antonio Venua (1788-1872). Born in Paris of Italian parents, he attended the Paris Conservatory for a time, but in 1805 went to London for the study of violin and composition. He became a member of the Royal Society of Musicians, and musical director of the ballet for the King’s Theater. William Gardiner, who brought the tune into use in his Sacred Melodies, 1812, said he got it from an adagio dance written by Venua for the ballet. Venua eventually stayed and worked in London for nearly 60 years. PARK STREET is also used for SDAH 17, “Lord of All Being, Throned Afar.”
📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.
Notes
Make each hymn more meaningful with these helpful tools: Short, ready-to-use hymn introductions for church bulletins, multiple ways to introduce a hymn based on your worship theme and in-depth history and insights to enrich your song service.
Text
1
Lord of the Sabbath and its light,
I hail Thy hallowed day of rest;
It is my weary soul’s delight,
The solace of my careworn breast,
The solace of my careworn breast.
2
O sacred day of peace and joy,
Thy hours are ever dear to me;
Ne’er may a sinful thought destroy
The holy calm I find in thee,
The holy calm I find in thee.
3
How sweetly now they glide along!
How hallowed is the calm they yield!
Transporting is their rapturous song,
And heavenly visions seem revealed,
And heavenly visions seem revealed.
4
O Jesus, let me ever hail
Thy presence with the day of rest;
Then will Thy servant never fail
To deem Thy Sabbath doubly blest,
To deem Thy Sabbath doubly blest.
Hymn Info
Biblical Reference
(a) Ex 20:11 (d) Gen 2:3; Heb 4:9
Author
Anonymous
Hymn Tune
PARK STREET
Metrical Number
L.M.
Arranged
from Frederick M.A. Venua, c. 1810 (1788-1872)
