Lark Ascending

 We look We strain our eyes To see The bird wing Unburdened so To fly and soar And we behind our doors Do pine We listen We strain our ears To hear The bird’s song Unfettered so Rise and swell and fall And we enthralled Do dream The lark ascends Above Above the trodden earth Winged heights Are calling Birdsong unfurls And we must follow

Abide with Me +

The inspiration for this hymn by Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847) is Luke 24, where the disciples on the road to Emmaus say to Jesus – “Abide with us, for it is towards evening and the day is well spent.” Lyte wrote it two weeks before his own death, having a memory return to him of a visit to a dying friend 20 years previously who repeated and repeated to Lyte ‘abide with me’ as his life slipped away.
The first time the hymn was sung was at Lyte’s funeral. He died from TB at the age of 54. Since the 1920s the first and last verse of the hymn has been sung at the FA cup final. It was also sung at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. 
Lyte was an Anglican minister and accomplished poet. 

 

^{•          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 every 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, 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;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.}

^{Extra verses by Sarah Larkin (April 2021)}

^{•          Jesus alive today, abide with me
Open my failing eyes so I can see
The Lord of all life who was crucified
Risen today, ascended, glorified}

^{•          Abide with me, my sunrise from on high
My bright morning star, always in my sky
Abide with me, all my years revive
This Resurrection Day, Jesus you're alive!}