Browse by Genre

Verse 1

The radiant morn hath passed away,
And spent too soon her golden store;
The shadows of departing day
Creep on once more.

Verse 2

Our life is but a fading dawn;
Its glorious noon how quickly past:
Lead us, O Christ, when all is gone,
Safe home at last.

Verse 3

O by Thy soul-inspiring grace
Uplift our hearts to realms on high;
Help us to look to that bright place
Beyond the sky,

Verse 4

Where light, and life, and joy, and peace,
In undivided empire reign,
And thronging angels never cease
Their deathless strain;

Verse 5

Where saints are clothed in spotless white,
And evening shadows never fall,
Where Thou, Eternal Light of Light,
Art Lord of all.

Verse 1

The sun is sinking fast,
The daylight dies;
Let love awake, and pay
Her evening sacrifice.

Verse 2

As Christ, upon the cross
In death reclined,
Into His Father’s hands
His parting soul resigned;

Verse 3

So now herself my soul
Would wholly give
Into His sacred charge,
In whom all spirits live;

Verse 4

So now beneath His eye
Would calmly rest,
Without a wish or thought
Abiding in the breast,

Verse 5

Save that His will be done,
Whate’er betide;
Dead to herself, and dead
In Him to all beside.

Verse 6

Thus would I live; yet now
Not I, but He
In all His power and love
Henceforth alive in me,

Verse 7

One sacred Trinity,
One Lord Divine;
Myself for ever His,
And He for ever mine!

Verse 1

As now the sun’s declining rays
Towards the eve descend,
E’en so our years are sinking down
To their appointed end.

Verse 2

Lord, on the cross Thine arms were stretched
To draw us to the sky;
O grant us then that cross to love,
And in those arms to die.

Verse 3

To God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Holy Ghost,
All glory be from saints on earth,
And from the angel host.

Verse 1

Now God be with us, for the night is closing;
The light and darkness are of His disposing;
And ’neath His shadow here to rest we yield us,
For He will shield us.

Verse 2

Let evil thoughts and spirits flee before us;
Till morning cometh, watch, O Master, o’er us;
In soul and body Thou from harm defend us,
Thine angels send us.

Verse 3

Let holy thoughts be ours when sleep o’ertakes us;
Our earliest thoughts be Thine when morning wakes us;
All day serve Thee, in all that we are doing
Thy praise pursuing.

Verse 4

As Thy beloved, soothe the sick and weeping,
And bid the prisoner lose his griefs in sleeping;
Widows and orphans, we to Thee commend them,
Do Thou befriend them.

Verse 5

We have no refuge, none on earth to aid us,
Save Thee, O Father, who Thine own hast made us;
But Thy dear presence will not leave them lonely,
Who seek Thee only.

Verse 6

Father, Thy Name be praised, Thy kingdom given,
Thy will be done on earth as ’tis in heaven;
Keep us in life, forgive our sins, deliver
Us now and ever.

Verse 1

Through the day Thy love has spared us,
Now we lay us down to rest;
Through the silent watches guard us;
Let no foe our peace molest:
Jesus, Thou our Guardian be;
Sweet it is to trust in Thee.

Verse 2

Pilgrims here on earth, and strangers,
Dwelling in the midst of foes,
Us and ours preserve from dangers;
In Thine arms may we repose;
And, when life’s brief day is past,
Rest with Thee in heaven at last.

Verse 3

Triune God, let all adore Thee,
Saints on earth, and saints in heaven;
Every creature bow before Thee,
Who hast all their being given;
Who dost seek and save the lost,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Verse 1

Sun of my soul, Thou Saviour dear,
It is not night if Thou be near;
O may no earth-born cloud arise
To hide Thee from Thy servant’s eyes.

Verse 2

When the soft dews of kindly sleep
My wearied eyelids gently steep,
Be my last thought, how sweet to rest
For ever on my Saviour’s breast.

Verse 3

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.

Verse 4

If some poor wandering child of Thine
Have spurned to-day the voice Divine,
Now, Lord, the gracious work begin;
Let him no more lie down in sin.

Verse 5

Watch by the sick; enrich the poor
With blessings from Thy boundless store;
Be every mourner’s sleep to-night,
Like infants’ slumbers, pure and light.

Verse 6

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.

Verse 1

Saviour, breathe an evening blessing,
Ere repose our spirits seal;
Sin and want we come confessing:
Thou canst save, and Thou canst heal.

Verse 2

Though destruction walk around us,
Though the arrows past us fly;
Angel guards from Thee surround us,
We are safe if Thou art nigh.

Verse 3

Though the night be dark and dreary,
Darkness cannot hide from Thee;
Thou art He, who, never weary,
Watchest where Thy people be.

Verse 4

Should death this night o’ertake us,
And our couch become our tomb,
May the morn in heaven awake us,
Clad in bright and deathless bloom.

Verse 1

All praise to Thee, my God, this night,
For all the blessings of the light;
Keep me, O keep me, King of kings,
Beneath Thy own almighty wings.

Verse 2

Forgive me, Lord, for Thy dear Son,
The ill that I this day have done;
That with the world, myself, and Thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.

Verse 3

Teach me to live, that I may dread
The grave as little as my bed;
To die, that this vile body may
Rise glorious at the awful day.

Verse 4

O may my soul on Thee repose,
And with sweet sleep mine eyelids close;
Sleep that may me more vigorous make
To serve my God when I awake.

Verse 5

When in the night I sleepless lie,
My soul with heavenly thoughts supply;
Let no ill dreams disturb my rest,
No powers of darkness me molest.

Verse 6

O when shall I, in endless day,
For ever chase dark sleep away,
And hymns with the supernal choir
Incessant sing, and never tire!

Verse 1

O Light of life, O Saviour dear,
Before we sleep bow down Thine ear:
Through dark and day, o’er land and sea,
We have no other hope but Thee.

Verse 2

Oft from Thy royal road we part,
Lost in the mazes of the heart:
Our lamps put out, our course forgot,
We seek for God, and find Him not.

Verse 3

What sudden sunbeams cheer our sight!
What dawning risen upon the night!
Thou giv’st Thyself to us, and we
Find guide and path and all in Thee.

Verse 4

Through day and darkness, Saviour dear,
Abide with us, more nearly near;
Till on Thy face we lift our eyes,
The Sun of God’s own Paradise.

Verse 5

Praise God, our Maker and our Friend;
Praise Him through time, till time shall end;
Till psalm and song His Name adore
Through heaven’s great day of evermore.

Verse 1

The day is past and over:
All thanks, O Lord, to Thee;
I pray Thee that offenceless
The hours of dark may be:
O Jesus, keep me in Thy sight,
And save me through the coming night.

Verse 2

The joys of day are over:
I lift my heart to Thee,
And call on Thee that sinless
The hours of gloom may be.
O Jesus, make their darkness light,
And save me through the coming night.

Verse 3

The toils of day are over:
I raise the hymn to Thee,
And ask that free from peril
The hours of fear may be.
O Jesus, keep me in Thy sight,
And guard me through the coming night.

Verse 4

Lighten mine eyes, O Saviour,
Or sleep in death shall I,
And he, my wakeful tempter,
Triumphantly shall cry,
“He could not make their darkness light,
Nor guard them through the hours of night.”

Verse 5

Be Thou my soul’s Preserver,
O God, for Thou dost know
How many are the perils
Through which I have to go,
Lover of men, O hear my call,
And guard and save me from them all.

Verse 1

The day is gently sinking to a close,
Fainter and yet more faint the sunlight glows:
O Brightness of Thy Father’s glory, Thou
Eternal Light of Light, be with us now:
Where Thou art present darkness cannot be:
Midnight is glorious noon, O Lord, with Thee.

Verse 2

Our changeful lives are ebbing to an end;
Onward to darkness and to death we tend:
O Conqueror of the grave, be Thou our Guide,
Be Thou our Light in death’s dark eventide;
Then in our mortal hour will be no gloom,
No sting in death, no terror in the tomb.

Verse 3

Thou, who in darkness walking didst appear
Upon the waves, and Thy disciples cheer,
Come, Lord, in lonesome days, when storms assail,
And earthly hopes and human succors fail;
When all is dark, may we behold Thee nigh,
And hear Thy voice, “Fear not, for it is I.”

Verse 4

The weary world is mouldering to decay,
Its glories wane, its pageants fade away:
In that last sunset, when the stars shall fall,
May we arise, awakened by Thy call,
With Thee, O Lord, for ever to abide
In that blest day which has no eventide.

Verse 1

At even, ere the sun was set,
The sick, O Lord, around Thee lay;
O in what divers pains they met!
O with what joy they went away!

Verse 2

Once more ’tis eventide, and we,
Oppressed with various ills, draw near:
What if Thy form we cannot see?
We know and feel that Thou art here.

Verse 3

O Saviour Christ, our woes dispel:
For some are sick, and some are sad,
And some have never loved Thee well,
And some have lost the love they had;

Verse 4

And none, O Lord, have perfect rest,
For none are wholly free from sin;
And they who fain would serve Thee best
Are conscious most of wrong within.

Verse 5

O Saviour Christ, Thou too art Man,
Thou hast been troubled, tempted, tried;
Thy kind but searching glance can scan
The very wounds that shame would hide;

Verse 6

Thy touch has still its ancient power;
No word from Thee can fruitless fall:
Hear in this solemn evening hour,
And in Thy mercy heal us all.

Verse 1

Again, as evening’s shadow falls,
We gather in these hallowed walls;
And vesper hymn and vesper prayer
Rise mingling on the holy air.

Verse 2

May struggling hearts that seek release
Here find the rest of God’s own peace;
And, strengthened here by hymn and prayer,
Lay down the burden and the care.

Verse 3

O God, our Light, to Thee we bow;
Within all shadows standest Thou;
Give deeper calm than night can bring,
Give sweeter songs than lips can sing.

Verse 4

Life’s tumult we must meet again;
We cannot at the shrine remain;
But in the spirit’s secret cell
May hymn and prayer for ever dwell.

Verse 1

Saviour, breathe an evening blessing,
Ere repose our spirits seal;
Sin and want we come confessing:
Thou canst save, and Thou canst heal.

Verse 2

Though the night be dark and dreary,
Darkness cannot hide from Thee;
Thou art He, who, never weary,
Watchest where Thy people be.

Verse 3

Though destruction walk around us,
Though the arrow past us fly,
Angel-guards from Thee surround us;
We are safe if Thou art nigh.

Verse 4

Should swift death this night o’ertake us,
And our couch become our tomb,
May the morn in heaven awake us,
Clad in light and deathless bloom.

Verse 1

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.

Verse 2

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.

Verse 3

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, O abide with me.

Verse 4

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.

Verse 5

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.

Verse 1

All praise to Him who dwells in bliss,
Who made both day and night;
Whose throne is darkness, in th’ abyss
Of uncreated light.

Verse 2

Each thought and deed His piercing eyes
With strictest search survey;
The deepest shades no more disguise
Than the full blaze of day.

Verse 3

Whom Thou dost guard, O King of kings,
No evil shall molest:
Under the shadow of Thy wings
Shall they securely rest.

Verse 4

Thy angels shall around their beds
Their constant stations keep:
Thy faith and truth shall shield their heads,
For Thou dost never sleep.

Verse 5

May we, with calm and sweet repose,
Our heavenly thoughts refreshed,
Our eyelids with the morn’s unclose,
And bless the Ever-bless’d.

Verse 1

The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended,
The darkness falls at Thy behest;
To Thee our morning hymns ascended,
Thy praise shall hallow now our rest.

Verse 2

We thank Thee that Thy Church unsleeping,
While earth rolls onward into light,
Through all the world her watch is keeping,
And rests not now by day or night.

Verse 3

As o’er each continent and island
The dawn leads on another day,
The voice of prayer is never silent,
Nor dies the strain of praise away.

Verse 4

The sun, that bids us rest, is waking
Our brethren ’neath the western sky,
And hour by hour fresh lips are making
Thy wondrous doings heard on high.

Verse 5

So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never,
Like earth’s proud empires, pass away;
But stand, and rule, and grow for ever,
Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.

Verse 1

Now from the altar of my heart
Let incense-flames arise:
Assist me, Lord, to offer up
Mine evening sacrifice.

Verse 2

Awake, my love! awake, my joy!
Awake, my heart and tongue!
Sleep not: when mercies loudly call,
Break forth into a song.

Verse 3

This day God was my Sun and Shield,
My Keeper and my Guide;
His care was on my frailty shown,
His mercies multiplied.

Verse 4

Minutes and mercies multiplied
Have made up all this day:
Minutes came quick, but mercies were
More fleet and free than they.

Verse 5

New time, new favor, and new joys
Do a new song require:
Till I shall praise thee as I would,
Accept my heart’s desire.

Verse 6

Lord of my time, whose hand hath set
New time upon my score,
Then shall I praise for all my time,
When time shall be no more.

Verse 1

The shadows of the evening hours
Fall from the darkening sky;
Upon the fragrance of the flowers
The dews of evening lie:
Before Thy throne, O Lord of heaven,
We kneel at close of day;
Look on Thy children from on high,
And hear us while we pray.

Verse 2

The sorrows of Thy servants, Lord,
O do not Thou despise,
But let the incense of our prayers
Before Thy mercy rise.
The brightness of the coming night
Upon the darkness rolls;
With hopes of future glory chase
The shadows from our souls.

Verse 3

Slowly the rays of daylight fade;
So fade within our heart
The hopes in earthly love and joy
That one by one depart.
Slowly the bright stars, one by one,
Within the heavens shine;
Give us, O Lord, fresh hopes in heaven,
And trust in things Divine.

Verse 4

Let peace, O Lord, Thy peace, O God,
Upon our souls descend;
From midnight fears and perils, Thou
Our trembling hearts defend:
Give us a respite from our toil,
Calm and subdue our woes,
Through the long day we labor, Lord,
O give us now repose.

Verse 1

Softly now the light of day
Fades upon my sight away;
Free from care, from labor free,
Lord, I would commune with Thee.

Verse 2

Thou, whose all-pervading eye
Nought escapes, without, within,
Pardon each infirmity,
Open fault, and secret sin.

Verse 3

Soon for me the light of day
Shall for ever pass away;
Then, from sin and sorrow free,
Take me, Lord, to dwell with Thee.

Verse 4

Thou who, sinless, yet hast known
All of man’s infirmity;
Then, from Thine eternal throne,
Jesus, look with pitying eye.

Verse 1

The day, O Lord, is spent;
Abide with us, and rest;
Our hearts’ desires are fully bent
On making Thee our Guest.

Verse 2

We have not reached that land,
That happy land, as yet,
Where holy angels round Thee stand,
Whose sun can never set.

Verse 3

Our sun is sinking now;
Our day is almost o’er;
O Sun of Righteousness, do Thou
Shine on us evermore.

Verse 4

From men below the skies,
And all the heavenly host,
To God the Father praise arise,
The Son, and Holy Ghost.

Verse 1

Our day of praise is done;
The evening shadows fall;
But pass not from us with the sun,
True Light that lightenest all.

Verse 2

Around the throne on high,
Where night can never be,
The white-robed harpers of the sky
Bring ceaseless hymns to Thee.

Verse 3

Too faint our anthems here;
Too soon of praise we tire:
But O the strains, how full and clear,
Of that eternal choir!

Verse 4

Yet, Lord, to Thy dear will
If Thou attune the heart,
We in Thine angels’ music still
May bear our lower part.

Verse 5

’Tis Thine each soul to calm,
Each wayward thought reclaim,
And make our life a daily psalm
Of glory to Thy Name.

Verse 6

A little while, and then
Shall come the glorious end;
And songs of angels and of men
In perfect praise shall blend.

Verse 1

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!

Verse 2

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.

Verse 3

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?
Thro’ cloud and sunshine, oh, abide with me!

Verse 4

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!

Verse 1

This night, O Lord, we bless Thee
For Thy protecting care,
And, ere we rest, address Thee
In lowly, fervent prayer:
From evil and temptation
Defend us through the night,
And round our habitation
Be Thou a wall of light.

Verse 2

On Thee our whole reliance
From day to day we cast,
To Thee, with firm affiance,
Would cleave from first to last;
To Thee, through Jesus’ merit,
For needful grace we come,
And trust that Thy good Spirit
Will guide us safely home.

Verse 3

What may be on the morrow
Our foresight cannot see;
But be it joy or sorrow,
We know it comes from Thee,
And nothing can take from us,
Where’er our steps may move,
The staff of Thy sure promise,
The shield of Thy true love.

Verse 1

My God, how endless is Thy love!
Thy gifts are every evening new;
And morning mercies from above
Gently distil like early dew.

Verse 2

Thou spread’st the curtains of the night,
Great Guardian of my sleeping hours:
Thy sovereign word restores the light,
And quickens all my drowsy powers.

Verse 3

I yield my powers to Thy command,
To Thee I consecrate my days;
Perpetual blessings from Thy hand
Demand perpetual songs of praise.

Verse 1

Saviour, when night involves the skies,
My soul, adoring, turns to Thee;
Thee, self-abased in mortal guise,
And wrapt in shades of death for me.

Verse 2

On Thee my waking raptures dwell,
When crimson gleams the east adorn,
Thee, Victor of the grave and hell,
Thee, Source of life’s eternal morn.

Verse 3

When noon her throne in light arrays,
To Thee my soul triumphant springs;
Thee, throned in glory’s endless blaze,
Thee, Lord of lords and King of kings.

Verse 4

O’er earth when shades of evening steal,
To death and Thee my thoughts I give;
To death, whose power I soon shall feel,
To Thee, with whom I trust to live.

Verse 1

Lord of power, Lord of might;
God and Father of us all;
Lord of day, and Lord of night,
Listen to our solemn call:
Listen, whilst to Thee we raise
Songs of prayer, and songs of praise.

Verse 2

Light, and love, and life are Thine,
Great Creator of all good;
Fill our souls with light Divine,
Give us with our daily food
Blessings from Thy heavenly store,
Blessings rich for evermore.

Verse 3

Graft within our heart of hearts
Love undying for Thy Name;
Bid us ere the day departs
Spread afar our Maker’s fame:
Young and old together bless,
Clothe our souls with righteousness.

Verse 4

Full of years, and full of peace,
May our life on earth be blest;
When our trials here shall cease,
And at last we sink to rest,
Fountain of eternal love,
Call us to our home above.

Verse 1

Now the day is over,
Night is drawing nigh,
Shadows of the evening
Steal across the sky.

Verse 2

Now the darkness gathers,
Stars begin to peep,
Birds, and beasts, and flowers
Soon will be asleep.

Verse 3

Jesus, give the weary
Calm and sweet repose;
With Thy tenderest blessing
May mine eyelids close.

Verse 4

Grant to little children
Visions bright of Thee;
Guard the sailors, tossing
On the deep blue sea.

Verse 5

Comfort every sufferer
Watching late in pain;
Those who plan some evil
From their sin restrain.

Verse 6

Through the long night-watches
May Thine angels spread
Their white wings above me,
Watching round my bed.

Verse 7

When the morning wakens,
Then may I arise
Pure, and fresh, and sinless
In Thy holy eyes.

Verse 8

Glory to the Father,
Glory to the Son,
And to Thee, blest Spirit,
Whilst all ages run.

Verse 1

At even, ere the sun was set,
The sick, O Lord, around Thee lay;
O in what divers pains they met!
O with what joy they went away!

Verse 2

Once more ’tis eventide, and we,
Oppressed with various ills, draw near:
What if Thy form we cannot see?
We know and feel that Thou art here.

Verse 3

O Saviour Christ, our woes dispel:
For some are sick, and some are sad,
And some have never loved Thee well,
And some have lost the love they had;

Verse 4

And none, O Lord, have perfect rest,
For none are wholly free from sin;
And they who fain would serve Thee best
Are conscious most of wrong within.

Verse 5

O Saviour Christ, Thou too art Man,
Thou hast been troubled, tempted, tried;
Thy kind but searching glance can scan
The very wounds that shame would hide;

Verse 6

Thy touch has still its ancient power;
No word from Thee can fruitless fall:
Hear in this solemn evening hour,
And in Thy mercy heal us all.

Verse 1

Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise
To pay thy morning sacrifice.

Verse 2

Awake, lift up thyself, my heart,
And with the angels bear thy part,
Who all night long unwearied sing
High praises to th’ eternal King.

Verse 3

Glory to thee, who safe hast kept,
And hast refreshed me when I slept;
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake,
I may of endless life partake.

Verse 4

Lord, I my vows to thee renew;
Scatter my sins as morning dew;
Guard my first springs of thought and will,
And with thyself my spirit fill.