Abide With Me (Origin)

Abide With Me

Henry Lyte lived a hard life. Having been sick for a long time, much of his life was spent battling weakness and poor health. That didn’t stop him from being a man of God, though—Henry devoted himself fully to the work of the church.

In 1818, he was deeply affected by the death of a fellow minister. The experience drew him back to his Bible, transforming both his preaching and his outlook on life.

It was around 1820 that he first began to write his hymn. While visiting another dying friend, he repeatedly heard the man whisper, “Abide with me… Abide with me… Abide with me.”

The words stayed with Henry. He recalled the story recorded in Luke 24, where Jesus appeared to two disciples traveling on the road out of Jerusalem shortly after the crucifixion. As the resurrected Jesus walked with them, He opened the Scriptures to them, and at the end of the day they begged Him to stay, saying, “Abide with us.”

Nearly thirty years later, Henry himself was dying. He asked to preach one last sermon. His frail body held up just long enough, and when he finished, he reached into his pocket and handed a copy of his hymn to a nearby relative.

He died only days later, on November 27, 1847. The song that found its birth at a friend’s death was sung for the first time at his own funeral. It was a fitting tribute for a hymn that speaks so deeply of Christ’s abiding presence through every shadow and sorrow of life.

Over the years, “Abide With Me” has often been sung at memorial services and solemn gatherings. Most famously, it was performed by the orchestra aboard the Titanic as she slipped beneath the sea. Today, it remains in nearly every English-language hymnal—still as powerful and moving as it was nearly two centuries ago.

https://youtu.be/gpLsLuuVmtk?si=H8mZ3iv2Qpc5RyLE

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, oh, 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.

I need Thy presence every passing hour;

What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?

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;

Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;

In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.