Friday Sept 3 Devotion

[Pastor Joelle]

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.

These words were written by Henry Francis Lyte as he lay dying of
tuberculosis on September 4, 1847.
Henry Lyte was born in Scotland on June 4, 1793. He was very close to
his mother who taught him bible stories and instilled a deep faith in
him. However she died when he was only nine years old. Shortly after
that his father abandoned him. The head master of the school Henry
was attending took him in and paid for him to continue his education.
Henry became and Anglican priest but also became a well known poet and
composer of hymns. Other well known hymns he wrote were “Jesus, I My
Cross Have Taken” (#603 in the Celebration Hymnal) Praise My soul,
the King of Heaven, God of Mercy, God of Grace.
But his best known and loved hymn is “Abide with Me” Lyte was
always in ill health and finally he wrote this song as a prayer for
God’s presence and comfort just weeks before his death. This hymn was
a favorite of both King George V nd Mahatma Gandhi. It was sung at the
weddings of King George VI and of his daughter, the future Queen
Elizabeth II. It is also often sung at Christian funerals. When the
Titanic sank, the band members gave up seats on the lifeboats to play
in order to comfort and calm passengers. “Abide with me” was one of
those songs.

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 bide 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.

You can hear the tunes of Henry Lyte’s hymns here :
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/l/y/lyte_hf.htm