He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. – Psalm 104:19

Today's Scripture Reading (August 25, 2022): Psalm 104

Eleanor Farjeon was an English poet and children's author. One day she was asked to write a poem that would fit a traditional Scottish tune that could be sung at the beginning of the day. It needed to be a song of thanksgiving for the new day that had been given to the people. The song was first published in 1931. A second variation of the song was published in 1957, also written by Eleanor Farjeon. This song was entitled "A Morning Song (For the First Day of Spring)." But regardless of the title, most of us know the song after hearing just the first few notes of the Scottish tune.

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing
Praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world

Colloquially, our understanding of the new day often comes with the rising of the sun. If I stay up into the wee hours of the morning, which happens fewer times now than it did when I was younger, I will often say I went to bed late last night, even though night had already expired and morning had begun. The only time we seem to pay attention to the changing of the day is on New Year's Eve. At that moment, we count down the seconds until midnight and that moment when we will flip the calendar over to a new year. On New Year's Eve, we welcome the new day and year that comes to us one second after midnight.

But the day beginning at one second after midnight or with the rising of the sun is not how everyone looks at the beginning of the day. The Psalmist argues that the moon marks the season and that the sun knows when to go down. Some have wondered about the order. Why talk about the moon first? There is a reason. The Psalmist has described his understanding of a new day. Hebrew people believed that the day began not with the sun's rising but rather with the sun's setting. The moon dominated the first portion of the new day as it marked the seasons, and the day continued until the sun's setting and the moon's rising marked the next day. So, as the sun sets, we give thanks for the day that has ended and offer prayers of petition for the day that begins with the rising of the moon.

Today's Scripture Reading: Psalm 107