Lyrics:

1. Great God, to thee my evening song
With humble gratitude I raise;
Oh, let thy mercy tune my tongue
And fill my heart with lively praise.

2. My days, unclouded as they pass,
And ev’ry onward rolling hour
Are monuments of wondrous grace
And witness to thy love and pow’r.

3. With hope in thee mine eyelids close;
With sleep refresh my feeble frame.
Safe in thy care may I repose
And wake with praises to thy name.

Text: Anne Steele, 1716-1778
Music: Edward P. Kimball, 1882-1937

-History: (Source: Wikipedia)

Written By: Anne Steele

Anne Steele (1717 – November 11, 1778), English hymn writer, was born at Broughton, Hampshire.

The drowning of her betrothed, a Mr. Elscourt, a few hours before the time fixed for her marriage deeply affected an otherwise quiet life, and her hymns rather emphasize the less optimistic phases of Christian experience. In 1760 she published Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional under the name “Theodosia,” and her complete works (144 hymns, 34 metrical psalms and 50 moral poems) appeared in one volume in London (1863).

She was a Baptist, and her hymns are much used by members of that communion, though some of them, e.g. “Father of mercies, in Thy word,” have found their way into the collections of other Churches. She has been called the Frances Ridley Havergal of the 18th century. Several of Anne Steele’s hymns appear in the Sacred Harp.

A Selection of Hymns for Public Worship, a hymn book compiled by William Gadsby and first published in 1814, includes 27 of the hymns by Anne Steele^[1]. This book is still available, used mainly by some of the Calvinistic Strict Baptist churches in England.

Music By: Edward P. Kimball

Edward P. Kimball (June 12, 1882 – March 15, 1937) was an American organist of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and a Latter-day Saint hymn writer.

In 1898 Kimball was appointed music teacher at the Beaver Branch of Brigham Young Academy. From 1902 to 1906, Kimball served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Germany.

Kimball was either the organist or assistant organist of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir from 1905 to 1937.^[1] Kimball was the organist when Music and the Spoken Word was begun.^[2] His son Ted Kimball was the first announcer for the show.

Kimball wrote the words to “God Loved Us, So He Sent His Son” and the music to “Great God, To Thee My Evening Song” and “The Wintry Day Descending to a Close”, all of which are in the 1985 English language edition of the LDS Church hymnal.

Kimball took a leave from his active service as Mormon Tabernacle organist to served as president of the German–Austrian Mission of the LDS Church.^[3]

In 1933, Kimball was appointed organist and director of the church’s Bureau of Information in Washington, D. C., where he also served as a lecturer and guide. While in this role, Kimball died following a brief illness in 1937.^[4]