“Abide with Me,” (ELW 629)
Devotion
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.
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 ev'ry 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, oh, 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.
Who or where it got started, I'm not sure, but for several generations "Abide with Me" has been a kind of family hymn—sung at the end of bedtime prayers with our kids, and at gravesides. No hymnbooks needed, many verses sung by heart.
When I'd put my youngest daughter to bed, we'd sing the first verse, and then she'd say she wanted to sing "chainnot"—which I understood to be verse two, "... O Thou who changest not..." I don't suppose I ever knew why she liked that particular verse. But the older I've gotten, and the more I've heard the lament of people who think the world is going to the dogs ("change and decay in all around I see"), I hear this verse anew. I don't happen to think this present world is so bad—hasn't every generation thought so?—but no matter how things appear, the one who changest not abides!
Prayer
Abiding God, we can easily become frightened by what is happening to our world—our failure to care for the planet, the violent schisms in human community, the uncertainty of family and cultural change. Help us remember that such fears have always been a part of human existence—and that your presence abides. Empower us to participate in change that unites and ennobles. Amen.