Sam Robson sings a beautiful acapella rendition of Chirstian hymn ‘Abide WIth Me.’
During these times music brings us comfort and helps calm the mind, body and the soul. ‘Abide with Me’ is a Christian hymn by Scottish Anglican Henry Francis Lyte. It is often sung to the tune “Eventide” by William Henry Monk.
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
The hymn is a prayer for God to remain with us throughout life, trials, and death. The opening verse is from Luke 24:29, “Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent”, and the penultimate verse is from 1 Corinthians 15:55, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
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.
Henry Francis Lyte, was an Anglican minister and for most of his life, he had poor health, and he would regularly travel abroad for relief. He composed the hymn in 1820 while visiting a dying friend, William Augustus Le Hunte, who was on his deathbed.
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.
As Lyte sat with the dying man, William kept saying, “Abide With Me…”. After that, Lyte wrote the hymn and gave a copy of it to Le Hunte’s family.
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.
It is said that when Lyte was approaching his end, twenty-seven years later at the age of 54, as he developed tuberculosis, he sang the lines of this song he had composed in County Wexford. The Biblical link for the hymn is Luke 24:29 in which the disciples asked Jesus to abide with them “for it is toward evening and the day is spent”.
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
Weeks later, on 20 November 1847 Lyte died and the hymn was sung for the very first time at Lyte’s funeral. While he wrote a tune for the hymn, the most usual tune for the hymn is Eventide by William Henry Monk.
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
As Sam Robson sings this beautiful hymn in his inimitable acapella style, we are comforted and feel uplifted that God is always present with us , through sickness, suffering, pain and crisis. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Amen!
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