The Sabbath Day Has Reached Its Close

Author: Charlotte Elliott

Elliott, Charlotte, daughter of Charles Elliott, of Clapham and Brighton, and granddaughter of the Rev. H. Venn, of Huddersfield, was born March 18, 1789. The first 32 years of her life were spent mostly at Clapham. In 1823 she removed to Brighton, and died there Sept. 22, 1871. To her acquaintance with Dr. C. Malan, of Geneva, is attributed much of the deep spiritual-mindedness which is so prominent in her hymns. Though weak and feeble in body, she possessed a strong imagination, and a well-cultured and intellectual mind. Her love of poetry and music was great, and is reflected in her verse. Her hymns number about 150, a large percentage of which are in common use. The finest and most widely known of these are, "Just as I am” and "My God… Go to person page >

The Sabbath day has reached its close. Charlotte Elliott. [Sunday Evening.] First published in Elliott's Psalms and Hymns, 1835, in 5 stanzas of 3 lines, with the refrain, "Smile on my evening hour." In 1839 it was enlarged to 7 stanzas, the 3rd and 4th stanzas, as in modern collections, being added, and republished in her Hymns for a Week. This latter text is found in Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, with the refrain lengthened to form a L.M. hymn, “Oh, smile upon my evening hour." It is given in a large number of modern hymn-books.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)