# CXLIII: Vespers—Sunday explained — Verses on Various Occasions

> Chapter companion for Verses on Various Occasions by John Henry Newman.

## What happens

A hymn to God as the Father of Lights, who creates light from darkness and blends morning and evening. The speaker pleads for mercy against sin and lawlessness, seeking purity and the immortal prize through constant vigilance and grace, concluding with a doxology to the Trinity.

## Themes in this chapter

### Sin and Redemption

The hymn pleads for deliverance from the 'whelming weight of crime' and seeks to avoid 'a sinner’s due,' emphasizing the need for redemption.

### Faith and Doubt

The speaker expresses faith in God's mercy and the hope of Heaven, while acknowledging the peril of 'lawlessness and strife.'

## Character check-ins

### Father, Son, and Paraclete

Addressed in the doxology as the recipient of worship.

### Lord

Implied as the 'Father of Lights' and the one who hears the plaint.

### Sinner

Referenced in 'a sinner’s due' as the one who earns punishment.

## Key lines

> Father of Lights, by whom each day Is kindled out of night

God, the source of all light, who creates each day from darkness.

_Opens the hymn with a metaphor for God as the origin of light and life._

> Hear, lest the whelming weight of crime Wreck us with life in view

Listen to us, so that the overwhelming burden of sin does not destroy us while we still have life ahead.

_A plea for divine intervention against the consequences of sin._

> So may we knock at Heaven’s door, And strive the immortal prize to win

Thus may we seek entry to Heaven and earnestly pursue eternal reward.

_Expresses the hope of salvation and the effort required to attain it._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/verses_on_various_occasions_se/chapters/cxliii-vespers-sunday
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/verses_on_various_occasions_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/verses_on_various_occasions_se/chapters