AGAIN, AS EVENING'S SHADOW FALLS
"Hide me in the shadow of Your wings." Psalms 17:8
Words: Samuel Longfellow, 1859.
Music: "Abends," Sir Herbert Stanley Oakeley (1830-1903).
Again, as evening's shadow falls,
We gather in these hallowed walls;
And vesper hymn and vesper prayer
Rise mingling on the holy air.
May struggling hearts that seek release
Here find the rest of God's own peace;
And, strengthened here by hymn and prayer,
Lay down the burden and the care.
O God, our light! to Thee we bow;
Within all shadows standest Thou;
Give deeper calm than night can bring;
Give sweeter songs than lips can sing.
Life's tumult we must meet again,
We cannot at the shrine remain;
But in the spirit's secret cell
May hymn and prayer forever dwell.