This tune was written at a time of great
sorrow—when together we watched, as we did
daily, the glories of the setting sun. As the
last golden ray faded, he took some paper and
penciled that tune which has gone all over the
earth.
Lyte was inspired to write this hymn as he
was dying of tuberculosis; he finished it
the Sunday he gave his farewell sermon in
the parish he served so many years. The
next day, he left for Italy to regain his
health. He didn’t make it, though—he died in
Nice, France, three weeks after writing
these words. Here is an excerpt from his
farewell sermon:
O brethren, I stand here among you
today, as alive from the dead, if I may
hope to impress it upon you, and induce
you to prepare for that solemn hour
which must come to all, by a timely
acquaintance with the death of Christ.
For over a century, the bells of his
church at All Saints in Lower Brixham,
Devonshire, have rung out “Abide with Me”
daily. The hymn was sung at the wedding of
King George VI of Britain, and at the
wedding of his daughter, the future Queen
Elizabeth II.
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.
At The Cross - Alas, And Did My Savior
Bleed?
Isaac Watts
Watts’ father was Nonconformist
imprisoned twice for his religious
views. Isaac learned Greek, Latin, and
Hebrew under Mr. Pinhorn, Rector of All
Saints, and headmaster of the Grammar
School in Southampton. Isaac’s taste for
verse showed itself in early childhood,
and his promise caused a local doctor
and other friends to offer him a
university education, assuming he would
be ordained in the Church of England.
However, Isaac declined and instead
entered a Nonconformist Academy at Stoke
Newington in 1690, under the care of
Thomas Rowe, pastor of the Independent
congregation at Girdlers’ Hall; Isaac
joined this congregation in 1693.
Watts left the Academy at age 20 and
spent two years at home; it was during
this period that he wrote the bulk of
his Hymns and Spiritual Songs.
They were sung from manuscripts in the
Southampton Chapel, and published
1707-1709.
The next six years of his life were
again spent at Stoke Newington,
working as tutor to the son of
eminent Puritan John Hartopp. The
intense study of these years is
reflected in the theological and
philosophical material he
subsequently published.
Watts preached his first sermon at
age 24. In the next three years, he
preached frequently, and in 1702 was
ordained as pastor of the Independent
congregation in Mark Lane. At that time
he moved into the house of a Mr. Hollis
in the Minories. His health began to
fail the next year, and Samuel Price was
appointed as his assistant in the
ministry. In 1712, a fever shattered his
constitution, and Price became copastor
of the congregation, which had moved to
a new chapel in Bury Street. It was at
this time that Isaac became the guest of
Sir Thomas Abney. He lived with Abney
(and later Abney’s widow) the rest of
his life, mainly at Theobalds in
Hertfordshire, then for 13 years at
Stoke Newington.
In 1728, the University of Edinburgh
awarded Watts a Doctor of Divinity
degree.
Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?
[originally, For such a worm as I?]
Refrain
At the cross, at the cross
where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine—
And bathed in its own blood—
While the firm mark of wrath divine,
His Soul in anguish stood.
Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died,
For man the creature’s sin.
Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears.
But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give my self away
’Tis all that I can do.
Come, Thou Fount Of Every Blesesing
Robert Robinson’s widowed mother
sent him at age 14 to London, to learn the trade
of barber and hair dresser. However, his master
found he enjoyed reading more than work.
Converted to Christ at age 17, Robinson became a
Methodist minister. He later moved to the
Baptist church and pastored in Cambridge,
England. He wrote a number of hymns, as well as
on the subject of theology. His later life was
evidently not an easy one, judging from a well
known story about his hymn “Come, Thou Fount of
Every Blessing.” One day, he encountered a woman
who was studying a hymnal, and she asked how he
liked the hymn she was humming. In tears, he
replied, “Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who
wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would
give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy
the feelings I had then.”
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I'll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day
What Will
You Do With Jesus
Jesus is standing in Pilate’s hall,
Friendless, forsaken, betrayed by all;
Hearken! what meaneth the sudden call?
What will you do with Jesus?
Refrain
What will you do with Jesus?
Neutral you cannot be;
Some day your heart will be asking,
“What will He do with me?”
Jesus is standing on trial still,
You can be false to Him if you will,
You can be faithful through good or ill:
What will you do with Jesus?
Refrain
Will you evade him as Pilate tried?
Or will you choose Him, whate’er betide?
Vainly you struggle from Him to hide:
What will you do with Jesus?
Refrain
Will you, like Peter, your Lord deny?
Or will you scorn from His foes to fly,
Daring for Jesus to live or die?
What will you do with Jesus?
Refrain
“Jesus, I give Thee my heart today!
Jesus, I’ll follow Thee all the way,
Gladly obeying Thee!” will you say:
“This I will do with Jesus!”
Refrain
When I See The
Blood
Christ our Redeemer died on the cross,
Died for the sinner, paid all his due.
All who receive Him need never fear,
Yes, He will pass, will pass over you.
Refrain
When I see the blood, when I
see the blood,
When I see the blood, I will pass, I will pass
over you.
Chiefest of sinners, Jesus will save;
As He has promised, so He will do;
Oh, sinner, hear Him, trust in His Word,
Then He will pass, will pass over you.
Refrain
Judgment is coming, all will be there.
Who have rejected, who have refused?
Oh, sinner, hasten, let Jesus in,
Oh, He will pass, will pass over you.
Refrain
O great compassion! O boundless love!
Jesus hath power, Jesus is true;
All who believe are safe from the storm,
Oh, He will pass, will pass over you.
Refrain
Break
Thou The Bread of Life
Words:
Mary A. Lathbury, 1877; verses 3-4,
Alexander Groves, in the Wesleyan Methodist
Magazine (London: September 1913). Lathbury
wrote this hymn, and
Day Is Dying in the West, on the shores of
Lake Chautauqua, New York.
Music: Bread
of Life,
William F. Sherwin, 1877
(MIDI,
score).
Break Thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to
me,
As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea;
Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee, O living Word!
Bless Thou the truth, dear Lord, to me, to
me,
As Thou didst bless the bread by Galilee;
Then shall all bondage cease, all fetters fall;
And I shall find my peace, my all in all.
Thou art the bread of life, O Lord, to me,
Thy holy Word the truth that saveth me;
Give me to eat and live with Thee above;
Teach me to love Thy truth, for Thou art love.
O send Thy Spirit, Lord, now unto me,
That He may touch my eyes, and make me see:
Show me the truth concealed within Thy Word,
And in Thy Book revealed I see the Lord.
