The hymn, “Abide with Me” was written by Henry F. Lyte in 1847. My favorite verse of that great hymn appears below. Click here to hear the music while you read the lyrics.
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.
There is such a wonderfully textured meaning in this song. The first line expresses our utter helplessness and child-like dependence on our heavenly father. Not an hour or a minute goes by that we do not rely upon Him for our pulse and breath. Not only is our very existence sustained by God, but only His power and grace keeps us from sin. We cannot do it on our own; if we try without God we are sure to fail. Satan is powerful, but he cannot do ANYTHING without permission from the Almighty. God is sovereign over ALL.
The line about God being our ‘guide and stay’ has a much deeper meaning that it would appear. The word stay can mean simply a thing that supports or steadies something else. In that sense, God is our stay. But ‘stay’ in this hymn, I believe, is a nautical term.
The writer of this hymn, Henry Lyte, was a minister in a small English town named Lower Brixham, Devonshire. In the mid-1800s, it was a fishing village and most of the people in Lyte’s parish were sea-farers. Lyte and his parishoners would understand the importance of the stay, which are the ropes used for steadying a mast fore and aft to keep it from bending. They are the strongest ropes on the ship and God is our strongest support in any storm.
The last line is a request for God to ‘abide with me.’ The greek word meno, which is used here, means to remain, endure and never leave. Through scorching sun and driving rain, Lord abide with me. What a wonderful prayer are these three words, Abide With Me.
The titular phrase is most likely taken from John 15:4-7 NASB These words are also used in the Hymn “God of Our Fathers, Whose Almighty Hand”
