You help make Hymnary.org possible. More than 10 million people from 200+ countries found hymns, liturgical resources and encouragement on Hymnary.org in 2025, including you. Every visit affirms the global impact of this ministry.

If Hymnary has been meaningful to you this year, would you take a moment today to help sustain it? A gift of any size—paired with a note of encouragement if you wish—directly supports the server costs, research work and curation that keep this resource freely available to the world.

Give securely online today, or mail a check to:
Hymnary.org
Calvin University
3201 Burton Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Thank you for your partnership, and may the hope of Advent fill your heart.

Sarah Doudney

Sarah Doudney
www.hymntime.com/tch
Short Name: Sarah Doudney
Full Name: Doudney, Sarah, 1841-1926
Birth Year: 1841
Death Year: 1926

Doudney, Sarah, daughter of Mr. George E. Doudney, of Cosham, Hants, was born near Portsmouth, but removed into a remote village in Hampshire at an early age. Her first efforts in literature were made when she was quite young, her poem, "The Lessons of the Water-Mill," a popular song, especially in America, having been written when she was only fifteen. Known mainly to the reading public through her stories, A Woman's Glory, Stepping Stones, and others, and through her contributions to the Sunday Magazine, Good Words, and other serials, her works, including fiction, and sacred and secular poems, have been widely read and appreciated. Her sacred poems are the least numerous of her writings. Some of these, as, "The Master hath come, and He calls us to follow," and "Saviour, now the day is ending," for use at the close of Evening Service, and of more than usual merit, create the desire for more of a like kind. Greater use, however, may be made of what she has written than has been done. By being buried in magazine literature, her hymns are somewhat difficult to trace. Her Psalms of Life was published by Houlston in 1871.

In the Sunday School Union Songs of Gladness, 1871, the following were given;—
1. He hath gone into His garden. The Vineyard of the Lord.
2. In Thy holy garden ground. The Vineyard of the Lord.
3. Land of peace, and love, and brightness. Heaven.
4. Saviour, now the day is ending. Sunday Evening.
5. The Master hath come, and He calls us to follow. Jesus and Mary of Bethany.
6. We praise our Lord to-day. Sunday.
7. We sing a loving Jesus. Praise of Jesus.
Of these, Nos. 1, 2, 3, are in her Psalms of Life, 1871, and all have passed from the Songs of Gladness into other collections.
Her:—
8. Room for the wanderer, room. Christ's Invitation. is in W. B. Stevenson's School Hymnal, 1880.

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

==================

Doudney, Sarah, p. 307, i. Other hymns in common use:—
1. For all Thy care we bless Thee. Morning.
2. Lord of the golden harvest. Harvest.
3. Now the solemn shadows darken. Evening.
Nos. 1, 2, are from Miss Doudney's Psalms of Life, 1871, and No. 3 is in Mrs. Brock's Children's Hymn Book, 1881.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Wikipedia Biography

Sarah Doudney (15 January 1841, Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire – 8 December 1926, Oxford) was an English fiction writer and poet. She is best known for her children's literature and her hymns.
Hymnary Pro Subscribers
Access an additional article on the Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology:
Hymnary Pro subscribers have full access to the Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Get Hymnary Pro

Texts by Sarah Doudney (18)sort descendingAsAuthority LanguagesInstances
Beyond the hopes of life and timeSarah Doudney (Author)1
For all Thy care we bless TheeSarah Doudney (Author)English13
Gut' Nacht! Schlaf' süß!Sarah Doudney (Author)German2
He comes into his gardenSarah Doudney (Author)1
He hath gone into his gardenSarah Doudney (Author)1
Lala rafiki lala mpenziSarah Doudney (Author)Swahili0
Now that our holy day is doneSarah Doudney (Author)English1
Now the solemn shadows darkenSarah Doudney (Author)English1
O Mestre nos chama, devemos segui-loSarah Doudney (Author)Portuguese2
Room for the wanderer, roomSarah Doudney (Author)English1
Savior, now the day is endingSarah Doudney (Author)English64
Savior, Thou knowest the souls that are drearySarah Doudney (Author)English1
Sleep on, beloved, sleep, and take thy restSarah Doudney (Author)English53
The Master hath come, and He calls us to followSarah Doudney (Author)English18
The weary hours like shadows come and goSarah Doudney (Author)English3
There are days of silent sorrowSarah Doudney (Author)English1
We come to Thee, sweet Savior, humbly seekingSarah Doudney (Author)English1
We sing a loving JesusSarah Doudney (Author)English23

Data Sources

Suggestions or corrections? Contact us
It looks like you are using an ad-blocker. Ad revenue helps keep us running. Please consider white-listing Hymnary.org or getting Hymnary Pro to eliminate ads entirely and help support Hymnary.org.