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Henry Francis Lyte was vicar of the fishing port of Brixham, Devon, and wrote a number of greatly loved hymns, of which ‘Abide with me’ is perhaps the most celebrated. He wrote it shortly after his last sermon, knowing that his own death (at the premature age of 54) was imminent, having been diagnosed with tuberculosis.

In 1915 Nurse Edith Cavell famously derived strength from this hymn by singing it in her cell the night before she was executed by a German firing squad. Today it is also a great favourite with crowds at football matches.

The original reference is to Luke 24:29, which runs ‘Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.’

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 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 then 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 and death, O Lord, abide with me!

Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847)