Abide With Me / Henry F. Lyte / William H. Monk
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Acts 28:1-5:
Ashore on Malta
1 Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.
My Understanding: I read the entire chapter, yet these first five verses are what called out to me in relation to this hymn and to what I believe the Lord would want to teach me in this time with him at his feet this evening. I believe the Lord would have me to look at a few words and/or phrases in this passage of scripture, in combination to the words of this hymn, and from that he will teach me what it is that he wants me to learn.
A pile of brushwood put on the fire
The definition of “brushwood” is: “Branches and twigs, fallen from trees and shrubs” -en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brushwood. They are no longer connected to the tree or bush. They have no life in them. They are dead. The Lord brought this passage to mind:
John 15:5-8 says: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
In v. 23 of Acts 28 it states this about Paul: “From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus… Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.” Then, Paul told the Jewish people listening to his message that the Holy Spirit spoke the truth to their forefathers through Isaiah the prophet when he said that the people were ever hearing but never understanding; ever seeing but never perceiving; their hearts have become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they might turn and God would heal them. Then, he told them that God’s salvation was now being sent to the Gentiles, and “they will listen!”
When Paul repeated the words of Isaiah to the people who refused to believe in Jesus Christ, in essence, he was putting brushwood on the fire, because he was letting those dead branches, who are not abiding in the vine, know that they would not receive God’s salvation. It would be sent to a people who would listen and who would believe.
A viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand
The Lord brought this passage of scripture to mind - Ephesians 6:10-13:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
When we take a stand for the Lord and for his gospel and we endeavor to obey the Lord in all things, and we let people know that if they refuse to believe that a fire of judgment awaits them, and when we call them to repentance and to obedience to Jesus Christ and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God so that they can receive forgiveness of sins and a place in heaven, or when we teach the truth of the gospel to let people know that belief in Jesus Christ means leaving their old lives behind and walking now in the Spirit and no longer fulfilling the lust of the flesh, not only do many people not like the message, but Satan hates it when we expose the lies and we tell people the truth. So, the viper (the powers of this dark world) is driven out by the heat of the truth of the gospel message, and he will attack us, and often through people close to our hearts.
The islanders assumed he must be a murderer and this was justice
Some attacks of the enemy on our lives and character may be obvious to others as this snake on Paul’s hand was obvious, and it may be because the people Satan uses to attack us make it apparent to others through slander and false accusations that might hurt our reputations because other people, not knowing the truth, might believe the lies and think we are guilty of some crime or some injustice when we are truly innocent, as was Paul.
Paul shook the snake off into the fire
This is what God’s word has to say to us on this subject of the viper’s attack on our deeds:
Matthew 5:10-12: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
When Satan attacks us and he uses our friends and loved ones as his instruments of attack on our character or on the work (our hands) God has called us to do, we are blessed, and we are to rejoice. When we rejoice and we are glad because of our reward in heaven, instead of letting their false accusations and evil conversations eat away at us and discourage and/or dishearten us, we are, in fact, shaking off the snake into the fire, and we do this through putting on the armor of God and fighting Satan’s lies with God’s truth.
Paul suffered no ill effects
When the darkness deepens; when our friends and loved ones turn against us and fail us; when earth’s joys grow dim through the scorn and unkind words of those who are opposed to us and to the gospel message; when all around us we see change in the gospel message as it is being watered down to where it is no gospel at all; when we see the decay of sin in the lives of those we love and yet they close their ears and their eyes to hear and to see the truth of God’s words; and/or when the viper comes against us and attacks the work to which God has called us or attacks our character or makes up lies about us to try to discredit us and to give us a bad reputation, we can abide in the one who does not change like shifting shadows. He is the helper of the helpless. He is our best friend, and one who will never fail us. He is our comforter. His grace alone can foil the tempter’s power. He is our guide. He is ever present with those who put their trust in Him. We have no need to fear any foe that would come against us, with the Lord at our side. Hurts have no weight, and tears no bitterness if we are truly rejoicing because of our reward in heaven. Death has no power over us and neither do the words of others if we truly understand what is happening to us, why it is happening, and what Jesus has already done about it through his death and his resurrection so that we could go free. “I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.”
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