Kingo had the true poet's ability to see things poetically. To him the rays of the rising sun were not only shining but "laughing on the roof" of his home. His imagery is rich and skillfully applied. Many of his hymns abound in striking similes. Their outstanding characteristic, however, is a distinctive, forceful realism. Kingo, when he chose to do so, could touch the lyre with enhancing gentleness, but he preferred the strong note and searched always for the most graphic expression, sometimes too graphic, as when he speaks of the "frothing wrath of God" and "the oozy slime of sin". Yet it is this trait of robust reality that invests his hymns with a large part of their enduring merit. "When Kingo sings of God, one feels as though He were right there with him", one of his commentators exclaims. Nor is that realism a mere literary pose. Like most great hymns, his best hymns are reflections of his own experiences. Kingo never attained a state of saintly serenity. Whatever peace he found was gained only through a continuous struggle with his own fiery and passionate nature. Few hymns convey a more vivid impression of a believing, struggling soul than Kingo's. His morning hymns are among his best. He loved light and gloried in the birth of each new day. The sun is his favorite symbol. Its rising signifies to him the final triumph of life over death, and the new day is a token thereof. It sounds a joyful call to wake and resume life anew. "Awake, my soul, the sun is risen, Upon my roof its rays now laugh,--" Every Christian should rejoice in the newborn day and thank God for it: Break now forth in Jesus' name, Blessed morn, in all thy splendor! I will sweetest music render And thy wondrous gifts proclaim. All my spirit with rejoicing Thanks the Lord for rest and care And, His grace and goodness voicing, Wings its way to Him in prayer. But the commencing day also calls for consecration lest its hours be wasted and its opportunities lost: Grant me, Lord, that on this day Now with light and grace beginning, I shall not submit to sinning Nor Thy word and way betray. Blessed Jesus, hover ever Over me, my Sun and Shield, That I firm may stand and never Unto sin and Satan yield. And the passing hours must admonish the Christian to work while it is day and to prepare for the evening that is coming: Let each fleeting hour of grace And the chiming bells remind me That to earth I must not bind me But Thy life and gifts embrace. And when dawns my final morrow, Let me go to Thee for aye, Let my sin and care and sorrow With my dust be put away. Finest of all Kingo's morning hymns is the splendid "The Sun Arises Now in Light and Glory". This hymn presents all the finest traits of Kingo's poetry, its vivid imagery, forceful style and robust faith. The following translation is by the Rev. P. C. Paulsen.