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Okay, I didn’t know what song to do today as everything we’ve sung lately in services I’ve already done. So I found this one in my old hymnbook. It’s been a LONG time since I have sung this hymn.
This one was written by John Keble. The Rev. John Keble was a high churchman of the Church of England. He was a a founder of the Tractarian Movement. This movement aimed at strengthening the spiritual life of the church. They did this through writing tracts. You can learn more about them here. Rev. Keble was less of a hymn writer and more of a poet. Many hymns attributed to his name were actually verses taken out of poems that he had written. He worked as a professor at Oxford for much of his life.
Lyrics
Sun of my soul, Thou Savior dear,
It is not night if Thou be near;
O may no earthborn cloud arise
To hide Thee from Thy servant’s eyes.
When the soft dews of kindly sleep
My wearied eyelids gently steep,
Be my last thought, how sweet to rest
Forever on my Savior’s breast.
Abide with me from morn till eve,
For without Thee I cannot live;
Abide with me when night is nigh,
For without Thee I dare not die.
If some poor wandering child of Thine
Has spurned today the voice divine,
Now, Lord, the gracious work begin;
Let him no more lie down in sin.
Watch by the sick, enrich the poor
With blessings from Thy boundless store;
Be every mourner’s sleep tonight,
Like infants’ slumbers, pure and right.
Come near and bless us when we wake,
Ere through the world our way we take,
Till in the ocean of Thy love
We lose ourselves in Heaven above.
