Evensong

“Sun of My Soul”
 
Sun of my soul, Thou Savior dear,
it is not night if Thou be near;
O may no earthborn cloud arise,
to hide Thee from Thy servant’s eyes.
 
When the soft dews of kindly sleep
my weary eyelids gently steep,
be my last thought how sweet to rest
forever on my Savior’s breast.
 
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.
 
If some poor wand’ring child of Thine
has spurned today the voice divine,
now, Lord, the gracious work begin;
let him no more lie down in sin.
 
Watch by the sick; enrich the poor
with blessings from Thy boundless store;
be every mourner’s sleep tonight
like infant’s slumbers, pure and light.
 
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 heav’n above.
 
~ lyrics by John Keble
~ painting by C. Wagner