Sun Of My Soul, Thou Savior Dear
Sun of My Soul, Thou Savior Dear
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 wearied 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 wandering 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 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.
THE PROPHET MALACHI called the Messiah the Sun of Righteousness, who would rise with healing in His wings. So John Keble was using a familiar title for Jesus when he wrote this poem. Keble first published “Sun of my Soul” in a book called The Christian Year, which included poems to be used by believers for worship throughout the church year. An extremely modest man, Keble published this book anonymously. He used the proceeds from the sale of his book to maintain the small village church near Oxford in which he served for more than three decades.
Throughout his ministry, Keble was known as an outstanding preacher and a careful Bible scholar. He wrote over seven hundred hymns. In 1869 Keble College was founded at Oxford University as a tribute to him.
For you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.
Malachi 4:2
From the book
