Abide With Me, ELW 629, v. 1 & 4
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!
4 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.
Devotion
The words, "Abide with me," could easily have been the words spoken by the two men on their way to Emmaus. Jesus had walked with them, opening the Scriptures and as evening drew near, they asked him, "stay with us..."
Henry Lyte, the hymn's author, wrote it as a prayer in his dying hours. He had just preached his last sermon and he recalled how a friend who died earlier had quoted the words of the two men, "Stay with us, for it is towards evening..."
As we observe the dark struggles of our broken world today, we may also feel it is growing towards "eventide." But remember, for these men, a new day dawned when they discovered it was the risen Jesus who accompanied them. Lyte also proclaimed it in his last words, "Where is death's sting; where grave thy victory? I triumph still, if thou abide with me."
Prayer
Gracious Savior, abide with us, and through the power of your Spirit, enable us to voice our witness to your saving grace in our world today. Amen.