This hymns by Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847; see SDAH 4) has come into common use as an evening hymn; in reality it is an appropriate hymn for funerals as the eventide of life is meant, rather than the sunset of a normal day. It is based on the words of the two disciples as they reached their home in Emmaus on the day of the Resurrection and invited the Stranger to stay the night with them: “Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent” (Luke 24:29). But the words are used metaphorically. Witness, for example, the expression in stanza 2, “life’s little day,” and in stanza 4, “Where is death’s sting?” Early in his ministry Lyte visited a dying friend who constantly repeated the words “abide with me,” which may have had a lasting impression on Lyte’s mind. The hymn was written, however, in 1847 (otherwise it might have been included in his Poems of 1833), in his last curacy in Brixham, just before or after his last sermon before leaving for the Riviera to recuperate from asthma and tuberculosis. The hymn was printed in leaflet form in September 1847 and appears in Remains, 1859, by his daughter, and in his Miscellaneous Poems, 1868. There were eight stanzas.

Lyte also contributed hymns SDAH 4, “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven”; SDAH 25, “Praise the Lord, His Glories Show”; SDAH 325, “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken”; and possibly SDAH 545, “Savior, Like A Shepherd.”

Lyte wrote his own tune for the words, but the hymn is now closely associated with EVENTIDE, composed in 1861 especially for these words and published in the 1861 edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern by its musical editor, William Henry Monk. After a committee meeting with his associate editor, Sir Henry Baker, at Monk’s home, both left, but the latter quickly recollected that they needed a tune for this hymn. He returned to the house, and in spite of a piano lesson being given in the next room, Monk dashed off the tune in 10 minutes. Later his widow said that at a time of great sorrow they were standing together watching the glories of the sunset, and under the inspiration of the moment Monk composed the tune in the gathering twilight.

Monk was born March 16, 1823, in London and occupied his first position as a church organist when he was 18 years old. He served as organist in four London churches, successively, until 1849, when he was appointed to King’s College, where he also served as choir director. In 1874 he was appointed professor of vocal music at King’s. He is noted for his work as musical editor of the first and second editions of Hymns Ancient and Modern and for his anthems and choral works. He was honored in 1882 with the degree of D. Mus. By the University of Durham. Monk also composed SDAH 603, VIGILATE, and arranged SDAH 233, RATISBON. He placed a very high value on church music; the organ was, in his opinion, an instrument for reaching souls, not for showing skill. Monk died March 1, 1889, at Stoke Newington, London.