3 Holy Spirit, be thou nigh

When in mortal pains we lie;
Grant us, as we come to die,

Light at evening time. 4 Holy, blessèd Trinity,

Darkness is not dark with thee;
Those thou keepest always see
Light at evening time. Amen.

Richard H. Robinson, 1869

17

6.4.6.6

THE sun is sinking fast,

The daylight dies;
Let love awake, and pay

Her evening sacrifice.

T

2 As Christ upon the cross

His head inclined,
And to his Father's hands

His parting soul resigned;

3 So now herself my soul

Would wholly give
Into his sacred charge,

In whom all spirits live;

4 So now beneath his eye

Would calmly rest,
Without a wish or thought

Abiding in the breast;

5 Save that his will be done,

Whate'er betide;
Dead to herself, and dead

In him to all beside.

6 Thus would I live; yet now

Not I, but he,
In all his power and love,

Henceforth alive in me.

7 One sacred Trinity,

One Lord divine,
May I be ever his,
And he for ever mine. Amen.

Latin; Tr. Edward Caswall, 1858

18

10.10.10.10 A

BIDE 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.

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 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.

4 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.

5 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.

Amen. Henry F. Lyte, 1847

19

S

Four 7's OFTLY now the light of day

Free from care, from labour free,

Lord, I would commune with thee.

2 Thou, whose all-pervading eye

Naught escapes, without, within,
Pardon each infirmity,

Open fault, and secret sin.

3 Soon, for me, the light of day

Shall for ever pass away;
Then, from sin and sorrow free,

Take me, Lord, to dwell with thee.

4 Thou who, sinless, yet hast known

All of man's infirmity;
Then, from thine eternal throne,
Jesus, look with pitying eye. Amen.

George W. Doane, 1824

20

L.M.
SUN
UN of my soul, thou Saviour dear,

It is not night if thou be near;
O may no earth-born cloud arise
To hide thee from thy servant's eyes.

2 When the soft dews of kindly sleep

My weary eyelids gently steep,
Be my last thought, how sweet to rest
For ever on my Saviour's breast.

3 Abide with me from morn till eve,

For without thee I cannot live;
Abide with me when night is nigh,
For without thee I dare not die.

4 If some poor wandering child of thine

Have spurned to-day the voice divine,
Now, Lord, the gracious work begin;
Let him no more lie down in sin.

5 Watch by the sick; enrich the poor

With blessings from thy boundless store;
Be every mourner's sleep to-night,
Like infant's slumbers, pure and light.

6 Come near and bless us when we wake,

Ere through the world our way we take,
Till in the ocean of thy love
We lose ourselves in heaven above. Amen.

John Keble, 1820

S.M.

21

day is past and
O may we all remember well

The night of death draws near.

T Thevening shades appear

:

2 We lay our garments by,

Upon our beds to rest;
So death shall soon disrobe us all

Of what is here possest.

3 Lord, keep us safe this night,

Secure from all our fears;
May angels guard us while we sleep,
Till morning light appears. Amen.

John Leland, 1792

TH

22

C.M.D. WHE shadows of the evening hours

Fall from the darkening sky;
Upon the fragrance of the flowers

The dews of evening lie.
Before thy throne, O Lord of heaven,

We kneel at close of day;
Look on thy children from on high,

And hear us while we pray.

2 The sorrows of thy servants, Lord,

O do not thou despise,
But let the incense of our prayers

Before thy mercy rise.
The brightness of the coming night

Upon the darkness rolls;
With hopes of future glory chase

The shadows on our souls.