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.
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.
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.
...........................................................
abide with me means stay with me.
this song is written by Henry Lyte, as he was dying of tuberculosis. i cant really understand the complex words and interpret word for word. yet it's so clear and simple, the desire of mr lyte for God to stay with him.
anyway i just decided to search some hymms, and try to understand how some hymms and poems can last through ages to stay on the lips of millions of worshippers in the world.
i was thinking: these song-writers have been anointed with a very very very special revelation, hence they can write such beautiful songs.
for example, in God of My Youth, the song-writer could be impressed upon the story of how young David, or young Pastor Kong or etc, whom as a youth, dedicated his life as a praise unto God.
lets see, this song-writer's revelation is probably: despite his growing up as a teenager and experiencing temptations to draw away from God, even when dishonouring God by being rebellious, God gave him grace.
GOD OF MY YOUTH I REMEMBER
YOUR CALL ON MY LIFE TOOK ME O’ER
YOUR LOVE HAS SEEN ME THROUGH ALL MY DAYS,
I STAND HERE BY YOUR GRACE.
Hence he puts his whole life in God's hands
GOD OF MY LIFE I SURRENDER
to praise and worship Him
GOD OF MY FOREVER
AND FOREVER I WILL SING
As you can see from above, this is the song-writer's revelation of what God was to him. In the famous "The Lord is my shepherd i shall not want", David's revelation of God was that He is a provider. In the popular Amazing Grace song, the song-writer's revelation was obvious: God's grace is amazing.
The conclusion is this: Every great song has a amazing revelation to it.
it's like Jesus asking Simon Peter, who am i?
Simon Peter had a revelation no one else had. He replied Jesus, "you are the son of God". and then Jesus blessed him!
i shall wait to get MY revelation. i believe it will be a great song.
What is God to you today?
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