Henry Francis Lyte

The Football Association Challenge Cup (commonly called the FA Cup) is the English soccer equivalent of our American Super Bowl. It’s played annually each May in Wembley Stadium before 90,000 frenzied soccer fans. It has been a century-old tradition to sing two verses of the English hymn “Abide with Me” shortly before kickoff. The hymn’s originator, Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847), pastored several Anglican churches in England and is well-known for another hymn, “Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven.” Henry labored to care for All Saints Church in Brixham, a small fishing village in England, despite ongoing struggles with respiratory issues. A few months before he succumbed to tuberculosis, he composed the lyrics to “Abide with Me.” He preached his final sermon on September 4, 1847, in a weakened state, urging congregants to face death resolutely because of their faith in Christ. He insisted on speaking, despite protests from his family, and said playfully, “It was better to wear out than to rust out.” That same evening, Henry shared with his daughter Anne his newly written hymn, which, ironically, was first sung at his funeral several weeks later. The lyrics were inspired by a verse in Luke’s gospel when the disciples request of Jesus, “Abide with us, for it is early evening, the day is almost over” (Luke 24.29). While the words refer to an actual moment when the risen Jesus first appeared to disciples on the Emmaus Road, Henry also treated it as a metaphor for life itself. When our days on earth are almost over, we rely on Jesus’ abiding presence. Each of the eight stanzas ends with the same “Abide with me” refrain. The triumphal ending of the hymn never ceases to stir something deep in me, “In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.”