4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide
in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches:
He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for
without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a
man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men
gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall
ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:4-7)
27 And
beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the
scriptures the things concerning himself. 28 And they drew nigh unto the
village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward
evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. 30 And
it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it,
and brake, and gave to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew
him (Luke 24:27-31)
This is one of the most beautifully spiritual hymns of the Church, written out
of a heart that was aware that it would very soon be with the Lord and abide
with Him forever. The venerable pastor, Henry F. Lyte, was dying of
tuberculosis in 1847. He gave his farewell sermon at his church on Sunday, sat
down at sunset and wrote this hymn, and then departed for France where he died
three weeks later. The wife of William H. Monk (who wrote the tune for the hymn
- EVENTIDE) was a member of the church in the congregation that last day. She
stated: “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.” An excerpt of that farewell sermon reads:
“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.”
This is not only a sermon statement, but a dying testimony
of a good Christian minister. For more than one hundred years following, the
bells of Mr. Lyte’s church, All Saints in Lower Brixham, Devonshire, rang out
the chime, “Abide with Me.” The hymn was also sung at the wedding of the
daughter of King George VI (Queen Elizabeth II), and at the funeral of Mother
Teresa in Calcutta, India.
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, 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.
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
In the singing and hearing of this great hymn, one cannot
but be reminded of the words of Job: “For I know that my redeemer liveth,
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” (Job 19:25)
The words of Job have been realized. We have a Savior who not only comes to us,
will never forsake us, but who comes to ABIDE (live with forever) with us.
Whether it is the last rays of the setting sun that glow from the distant
horizon, or the fading light of life itself that warmly fades before the eyes of
the saint, this hymn has direct appeal. The hymn has been played and sung all
the days of my own memory and always inspires me to remember the day that I
must go alone before my Lord and Savior with nothing in hand but those
treasures that I may have deposited on High where neither rust or moth can
devour.
“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.” The sunset of the day, as well as the sunset of
life, proceeds unabated with deliberate speed once the evening sun approaches
the horizon. How surely we felt that the glorious day would never end at the
morning sunrise, yet, once the sun begins to fade and the light of day grows dim,
how swiftly does the darkness pervade our world – or our souls. The body needs
rest, and the Lord has provided the ideal of night for that rest. The soul also
needs rest, and the Lord has granted, in His mercy, a final Haven of Rest for
our souls.
“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.”
The glorious Sunrise of Heaven cannot come before the sunset of life closes our
eyes in the sleep of death. At the final moment, when the soul is called forth
from that earthen sanctuary that has been its home during the course of earthly
life, all others of our acquaintance slowly fade into the dark shadows – our
friends, family, medical attendants – all fade away. We are then left alone to
cross that portal that bridges the Waters of Jordan River. At the last, we can
call on no friend other than that One Friend who “sticketh closer than a
brother” and Who has promised to never forsake or leave us alone. If we
have not that Hand upon which to cling, we have no one to go with us across
those turbulent Waters of Jordan Banks.
“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.” If we walk daily with the Lord, we shall have no
difficulty in finding Him by our side when we depart from these troubled shores
– He will be right with us – in our hearts, by our side, and the Light that
Guides. This morning, a dear friend sent me her thoughts on the deep meaning,
mystery and promise of a Psalm: “Blessed is the man whom thou choosest,
and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be
satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple”
(Psalms 65:4) It is the Grace of God that enables us to abide in Christ, and
His Grace that compels us to come, at first Light, to Him. He CAUSES us, in the
first place, to approach that Throne of Grace reserved for His Elect. It is
because of that Grace that we can dwell in His courts, and abide in His Love.
“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.”
The Christian knows in his heart that the key to abiding with family, with
spouse and children, is the toleration and care imbued by LOVE. Love makes all
things possible, and is more powerful than death. It is love that gave us our
first primitive breath of life, and love which bridges the dark Valley of the
Shadow of Death, and it is Love that draws us home to our abode in
Christ. Having our Lord by our side, and in our hearts, we fear no power of man
or beast. Death offers no terror but, rather, a respite. Since Love is stronger
than death, LOVE will see us through that imagined terror. “For I am
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things
to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39) This verse assures us of an eternity
of Love and abode in Christ.
“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.” As the flames grew tall before her shackled
body, the sweet and virtuous Maid of Orlean (Joan of Arc) called for a Cross to
be held before her dying eyes. This provided by an onlooker, she went her way
as a gleaner of grace to her Lord. The flames of her consuming fire were
blinded by that greater Light of Christ’s Love that burst through the dark shadows
of her gloom. Perhaps at her last glimpse of life, she remembered the sweet
words of Solomon: “My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love,
my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over
and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is
come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree
putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good
smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.” (Song 2:10-13) The
world is not good enough for His saints – Come Away with Christ.
If we will abide in Christ at death, we must have first abode with Him in life.
He raises His banner over us as was customary at the Banqueting House of the
Wedding: “I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit
was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his
banner over me was love.” (Song 2:3-4)
These are the five verses we find in our 1940 Church Hymnal;
however, the writer of the hymn composed three additional verses as included
below. These seal the faith and hope of a man who had dedicated his entire life
to serving the Lord and preaching His Word:
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.
That last verse, (“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,”) is a benediction
on my own life. I can remember the personal moments of sunlit grace in my youth
when God smiled warmly on me. I remember the terrible moments of my
forgetfulness and rebellion against that Benign Love of Christ. But I always
had the lingering assurance that Christ had not left me alone – even if I had
tried to escape His bonds of Love. He gripped my hand as a loving mother does
her child at a busy intersection. Like Peter, at the moment of my most hateful
rebellion, He turned and looked at me, and my shame overwhelmed my soul. The
close of the Door of Salvation, just as happened with the Door of Noah’s Ark,
will soon close for each of us. It is critically important as to which side oif
the closed Door we find ourselves at death. Have we gone into the Presence of
God to abide with Him, or do we remain without the Door (Christ) with the wild
beasts and men of the world?
