A Hymn for Holy Week Meditation

LW #490: 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 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.

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 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.


Just as a note, this would be a really good song to have at a funeral. Are you surprised I said that? Here I am, not quite 25 years old and thinking about what songs I'd want to have sung at my funeral service. Well, here's my reasoning: It reflects that we need God and that we are utterly helpless without Him. It also reflects that I'll never be without God, that He'll protect me from Satan's power all the days of my life, and that when my time comes, He'll be there to usher me into His kingdom.

It also is a wonderful song for reflection on the whole meaning of Holy Week, and that is the reason I decided to post it.

Our pastor talked tonight, during his sermon, about morbidity, or the focusing on death. What is the opposite of morbidity? he asked. The answer: vanity. Is it wrong to be morbid? No. Sometimes we need to be, because it keeps us from being too vain. What is the one thing that vain people need to hear? A sermon on the morbidity of Christ, for one.

Jesus went to the cross without any vanity, celebrating His death in a way that none of us could understand. The last stanza of the hymn says a lot: "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."

This is one song in which the lyrics are truly some to be strongly meditated upon and considered, especially during Holy Week.