fast falls the eventide

I like the traditional music to which Abide with Me is usually set, but ever since Sr. Carolyn introduced us to this one by Richard Webster, it's been my favorite. This choral version is less simple than the one we sing, but it's still lovely.

May your listening be a prayer tonight as God's grace and peace flow through the beauty of the music.

Abide with me 

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.

I need Thy presence every passing hour;

What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?

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;

Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;

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

-- Henry F. Lyte, 1847