1/19 Hymn - "Abide With Me"

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings,
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea—
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus abide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;
And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee,
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

BIBLE REFERENCE: Psalm 23:4 Daniel 3:23-29 Isaiah 43:2 John 15:4-11

Lyrics: Henry Francis Lyte Born: June 1, 1793, Ednam, Scotland
Died: November 20, 1847, Nice, France

Composer: William Henry Monk Born: March 16, 1823, London, England
Died: March 1, 1889, London, England

It has been stated that only the person who can face the prospect of death realistically is able to live this life with purpose and confidence. Such was the conviction of a rather obscure English pastor, Henry F. Lyte, when he wrote the text for this hymn in 1847, shortly before his own home-going. It has since become one of the favorite hymns for Christians everywhere during times of sorrow and deep distress.

Henry F. Lyte was born in Scotland on June 1, 1793. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, and was a member of the Church of England all of his life. Throughout his lifetime he was known as a man frail in body but strong in faith and spirit. His health was continually threatened by asthma and tuberculosis.

Despite his physical frailties he was a tireless worker with an established reputation as a poet, musician and minister. It was he who coined the phrase, "It is better to wear out than to rust out." Wherever he ministered, he was greatly loved and admired by his people.

For the last twenty-three years of his life Lyte pastored a poor parish church among fishing people at Lower Brixham, Devonshire, England. During these later years his health became progressively worse so that he was forced to seek a warmer climate in Italy. For the last sermon with his poor parishioners on September 4, 1847, it is recorded that Lyte nearly had to crawl to the pulpit and his message came as from a dying man. His final words made a deep impact upon his people when he said that it was his desire to "induce you to prepare for the solemn hour which must come to all by a timely appreciation and dependence on the death of Christ." On his way to Rome, Italy, he was overtaken by death at Nice, France, and was buried there in the English cemetery on November 20, 1847.

Lyte is said to have written this text along with his own tune shortly before his last Sunday at the Lower Brixham Church. It never became widely used in England until it was first published in a book, Lyte's Remains, in 1850, London. Its first appearance in America was in Henry Ward Beecher's Plymouth Collection in 1855 with the notation that "this hymn was meant to be read and not sung."

Henry Lyte's text for this hymn was taken from the account of Christ's appearance with the two disciples on the way to Emmaus and their statement, "Abide with us: for it is toward evening and the day is far spent" (Luke 24:29). Although Lyte did not write a great quantity of hymns, others from his pen include "Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken".

Are you experiencing dark days in your life? Does fear and doubt have a hold on you? Is your body failing you, and does pain rob you of your joy? The Lord promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us. Let us then comfort ourself with these words from the book of James, Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you....Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4:8,10

Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

www.biblestudycharts.com