Favourite Hymns # 2
But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them. Luke 24:29 (NKJV)
What would cause a man with his final breaths utter as his dying words, “Peace, Joy”?
To understand why these words were chosen, one would first need to understand the man behind them. These were, allegedly, the last words expressed by Henry Francis Lyte, who is remembered today as the writer of the beloved hymn, Abide With Me. Here is a snippet of his remarkable story.
Lyte was a gifted poet with an extremely sharp mind. He received the top poetry award three times, while studying medicine, as a student at Trinity College in Dublin. Great expectations were on this young man. However, after the sudden passing of a close friend, Lyte turned his attention from medicine and his poetry towards the priesthood; he was subsequently ordained in 1815 to the Church of England. It was in the early years of his ministry where the seeds for his great hymn were planted 27 years before its composition.
In 1820, Lyte sat at the bedside of a dying priest who shared with Lyte some of his greatest regrets relating to his personal faith and ministry. In the final moments of the old priest’s life, he kept repeating one phrase over and over, “Abide with me; abide with me.” A desperate plea from a dying man to his Lord.
Although a gifted individual, Lyte served the majority of his ministry in relative obscurity at All Souls Church in Lower Brixham, a small fishing village in south-west England. Throughout much of his ministry years, Lyte suffered with a severe respiratory condition which culminated into fatal tuberculosis. After a long absence from the pulpit, and against the will of family and friends, Lyte requested to preach one final message before heading south for fairer weather in a last-ditch effort to help strengthen his failing lungs. He apparently struggled through his final message and afterwards retreated to his study. An hour later he returned, handing his daughter a folded page of paper, which contained the words and melody to his beloved hymn. The next day Lyte left for Nice France where he died two weeks later at the age of fifty-four. (*The melody which we now commonly sing with the hymn was written by Henry Monk in 1861. The tune is entitled Eventide, and was partly inspired by the passing of Monk’s own daughter)
What underlies the beauty of Lyte’s hymn was also the beautiful faith that stirred in him to breathe out, “Peace, Joy” at his very last. Years earlier, Lyte heard the pleadings of one man’s clinging to the desperate hope that God’s presence would be with him. When Lyte passed, there was no pleading, but the powerful acknowledgement of the “peace” and “joy” of knowing his Saviour was already “abiding” with him.
Devotional Thought:
I cannot help but believe, in the midst of these isolating times, there is not a more fitting anthem for the Christian than Lyte’s Abide With Me. The Scriptural inspiration behind the hymn was Luke 24:29 (see above). This passage shares, how two distraught disciples still reeling from Jesus’ crucifixion, traveled with an unknown and remarkable traveller from Jerusalem to the town of Emmaus. Upon reaching their destination, instead of wishing their new companion, “Good day,” they pleaded with him to, “Abide with us” through the coming nightfall. On entering their home, and as they were about to share a meal together, they discovered, this was no stranger, but their risen friend and Lord!
Just as these friends greatly longed for the extended presence of Jesus, Lyte’s hymn, from the first stanza to the last, asks the same. Regardless of the circumstances; whether facing loneliness, abandonment, old age, temptation, rebellion, fear, and even death, Lyte’s desire for Jesus’ is the same as these two travellers, for Jesus to, “Abide with me.” Likewise, may this not only be our prayer during these trying times, but more so, our constant reality. To fully know Jesus does “abide with us,” giving us “peace” and “joy” in whatever befalls us.
Abide With Me — H.W. Lyte (1847)
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 terror, 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.
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.
Did You Know?
Abide With Me is one of the most beloved of all British hymns and has a remarkable legacy — here are a few interesting tidbits:
- It is played at the FA Cup finals (England’s Premiere Soccer League) and has done so every year since 1927. Apparently King George V and Queen Mary II were so enthused by its playing it has remained ever since. The hymn also plays before the RFU (Rugby) Cup Finals; and was included in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg3gCw5mm7c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcrOq0-5JPo
- The hymn was played at both King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II weddings.
- It was one of at least two hymns said to be played by the eight person brass band on the Titanic as it was sinking (Nearer My God To Thee, was another hymn attested to being played)
- It was said this was one of the favourite songs of Mahatma Gandhi, and every January 29, it plays as part of India’s Beating Retreat (the first day of a giant four day military ceremony that dates back to the 17th century)
- Abide With Me has been recorded by many famous musicians including: Doris Day, Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane and Paul McCartney.
- The great English Poet Alfred Lord Tennyson said of Abide with Me, “(It) takes rank among the really perfect poems of our language.”
