Day by Day (hymn)

Day by Day (and with Each Passing Moment) is a Christian hymn written in 1865 by Lina Sandell several years after she had witnessed the tragic drowning death of her father.[1] It is a hymn of assurance used in American congregational singing.

Day by Day
Christian hymn by Oscar Ahnfelt
Lina Sandell
GenreHymn
Occasionfuneral
TextLina Sandell
LanguageSwedish
Meter10.9.10.9 D
Melody"Blott en dag" by Oscar Ahnfelt

Sandell-Berg was a prolific Swedish hymn writer. Two of her hymns, "Day By Day" and "Children of the Heavenly Father" are widely known in the U.S. The original and most popular English translation of the hymn is by Andrew L. Skoog, a Swedish immigrant to the U.S. "Day by Day" started appearing in American hymnals in the latter half of the 1920s, and its popularity has increased since then. The hymn's tune was composed in 1872 by Oscar Ahnfelt.[2]

The hymn's Swedish name is "Blott en Dag," its first three words in Swedish. The words mean "just one day" or "just another day." In Sweden and Finland, it is popular at funerals.[3] It was recorded by Carola Häggkvist in 1998 on the album Blott en dag.[4] Other Swedish recordings include one in 1965 by Curt & Roland and on Anna-Lena Löfgren's 1972 Christmas album, Nu tändas tusen juleljus.

Original lyrics
Oscar Ahnfelt

1. Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best--
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

2. Ev'ry day the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He whose name is Counselor and Pow'r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
"As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,"
This the pledge to me He made.

3. Help me then in eve'ry tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E'er to take, as from a father's hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

References
  1. "Day By Day". Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  2. "Day By Day". Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  3. "Toimitusten musiikki" (in Finnish). Mikkelin tuomiokirkkoseurakunta. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  4. "Blott en dag". Svensk mediedatabas. 1998. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
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