’Tis Gone, That Bright and Orbèd Blaze

’Tis gone

that bright and orb­èd blaze

Fast fad­ing from our wist­ful gaze;

Yon mant­ling cloud has hid from sight

The last faint pulse of quiv­er­ing light.

In dark­ness and in wea­ri­ness

The trav­el­er on his way must press

No gleam to watch on tree or tow­er

Whiling away the lone­some hour.

Sun of my soul! Thou Sav­ior dear

It is not night if Thou be near:

Oh

may no earth-born cloud arise

To hide Thee from Thy serv­ant’s eyes!

When round Thy won­drous works be­low

My search­ing rap­tur­ous glance I throw

Tracing out wis­dom

pow­er and love

In earth or sky

in stream or grove

Or by the light Thy words dis­close

Watch time’s full riv­er as it flows

Scanning Thy gra­cious prov­idence

Where not too deep for mor­tal sense.

When with dear friends sweet talk I hold

And all the flow­ers of life un­fold;

Let not my heart with­in me burn

Except in all I Thee dis­cern.

When soft the dews of kind­ly sleep

My wear­ied eye­lids gent­ly steep

Be my last thought

how sweet to rest

For ev­er 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.

Thou fram­er of the light and dark

Steer through the tem­pest Thine own ark:

Amid the howl­ing win­try sea

We are in port if we have Thee.

The rul­ers of this Christ­ian land

’Twixt Thee and us or­dained to stand—

Guide Thou their course

O Lord

aright

Let all do all as in Thy sight.

Oh! by Thine own sad bur­then

borne

So meek­ly up the hill of scorn

Teach Thou Thy priests their da­ily cross

To bear as Thine

nor count it loss!

If some poor wan­der­ing child of Thine

Have 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 i­nfants’ 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 Heav­en ab­ove.