Composition
Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847) wrote "Abide with Me" in September 1847, reportedly in the hours after preaching his final sermon to his congregation at All Saints', Brixham, Devon, before departing for the Mediterranean in a last attempt to recover his failing health from tuberculosis. He reportedly brought the completed manuscript to his family that evening; he died in Nice three weeks later. William Henry Monk composed the tune "Eventide" in 1861, reportedly in ten minutes at sunset, for Hymns Ancient and Modern.
Biblical Text
Luke 24:29 - "But they urged him strongly, 'Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over'" - is the hymn's direct source. The disciples' plea to the unrecognized risen Christ at Emmaus - asking him to stay, not knowing who he is - becomes the model for the dying man's prayer: the approaching evening is both literal (the day's end) and metaphorical (life's end), and the plea is the same: abide with me.
1 Corinthians 15:55 - "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" - underlies the third stanza's defiance of death. Malachi 3:6 - "I the LORD do not change" - grounds the repeated emphasis on the one who "changes not," contrasted with everything else that "changes and decays."
Creator and Legacy
See the main entry "abide-with-me." The "lyte-abide-with-me" entry covers the same hymn from the composer's perspective. The tune "Eventide" by Monk is inseparable from Lyte's text: the match of words and music is so perfect that alternative settings have never achieved traction. The hymn is sung at the FA Cup Final, at state funerals, and wherever English-speaking Christians face the close of life. Its combination of the most intimate personal prayer and the widest cultural reach is unmatched in the English hymn tradition.