Abide with me! fast falls the eventide

B216 C288 E370 K288 P187 R268 T370
1
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.
2
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.
3
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, thus abide with me.
4
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, oh, abide with me.
5
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.
146
Sarah Heger

Boulder, Colorado, United States

This was Mahatma Gandhi's favorite him and it was sung daily by him and his flowers at all prayer meetings, in which a prayer from each religion was recited.


Emile B. Sambou

Dublin, Co. Dublin, Ireland

This hymn is really piercing to the heart and brings out so clearly and comfortingly the need for sinners like me to hold onto the abiding mercy of the Lord Jesus who alone forgives sins in the mighty power of His Father's grace.

To the composer I say, thank you.


Joanna Scott

Flower Mound, Texas, United States

You are missing a verse. The sixth verse is

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes

shine thro’ the gloom, and point me to the skies.

Heaven morning breaks and earths vain shadows flee

In life and death oh Lord abide with me


Rachael Owusu

Accra, Ghana

This song is so inspiring. When the going gets tough, I turn to it and it comforts me.

When I do I become so emotional. I remember my mum (may her soul rest in peace). It was one of her favorite hymns and she taught me to sing it.

Indeed when darkness deepens, the Lord abides with us.


Leigh Powell

I like this hymn of fellowship, with the Lord Jesus Christ, and I know it's often sung at funerals. But the Lord Jesus is the friend of sinners, and sinners ( like I did) can be forgiven and become children of God as they in faith ask God to forgive them and through His eternal love be born again into His family (Romans 8 verse 15 to 17).

Although I rarely sing it, my first pastor told me it was a hymn of Christian closeness to God as the Christian seeks to walk close to Hum daily. Maybe the only part that hints at death is the start of verse 2. But if we read closer we find that, with sin dealt with on our repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of those who are born again, then He draws close to us, despite the darkness of the devil's wiles.

If this hymn were purely for funerals, then we would not have many passing hours to live in. No. Instead, in fellowship with God in Christ (1 John 1 verse 7 to 9), we find that our Good Shepherd is our guide throughout our discipled days.

With God on our side (Romans 8 verse 31) we can fear no foe, for greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world (1 John). As per 1 Corinthians 15, in Christ we have the victory over sin and death.

Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift (2 Corinthians 9 verse 15).


Ay

Lagos, Nigeria

Thank you for this music. It's great to be able to sing along. God bless you.


Malcolm G.

Bronx, NY, United States

The words of this song is so comforting.


Okezie-Alaukwu, Ebenezar C.

Delta State, Nigeria

Whoever that has this website.... I don't think you have even the slightest idea how much lives you're touching by this (And how much you touched mine). I wish I could meet you in person to express my gratitude, but I guess I'll do that here. Thank you. Truly your reward is in heaven.


Kwong Wai Ming

Hong Kong

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

Thank my Lord for sparing my soul.


Chioma

Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

We're of a true "NOTHING" without Christ. Live itself would have been so so meaningless.

This hymn humbles me.

The fourth step in escaping the fall is to know the frailty of man. Enosh is another interesting name in Genesis 4. Enosh means "frail, mortal man." This implies that to escape from walking on the path of the fall, we need to know the frailty of man. We need to know that man is nothing and can break, just as a glass cup breaks easily. This is frailty. Man is frail. Some people do not know themselves. They think that they are smart, wise, and strong, when in fact they have nothing of which to boast. When a car hits a man, he is as fragile as a glass cup. When he is infected with tuberculosis, he must lie down. He may even die from tuberculosis. Man's life is frail. Man's name is Abel, but man's name is also Enosh. Abel means that man is vain, but Enosh means that man is frail. People who dream about their life should wake up. Man is not strong. Man will collapse when he is sick, and he will die if a car hits him. A wife can collapse when she is mad at her husband. She can even get ulcers because of her anger. A person can live to be one hundred years at most. The Chinese say that few can live to the age of seventy. Being fifty years old is not yet the twilight hour, but it is already four o'clock in the afternoon. Some people are at eight or nine o'clock in the evening. There is a hymn that says, "Swift to its close ebbs our life's little day" (Hymns, #370, stanza 2). People must wake up from their dreams, because human life is vain and frail. In order to escape the fall, we must realize the meaning of human life. Those who continue in the fall do not know their own human life. In chapter 4 those who were delivered out of the fall knew that human life is vain and frail.