The Cyber Hymnal ‎#4535

4535. Now God Be with Us

1. Now God be with us, for the night is closing:
The light and darkness are of His disposing,
And ’neath His shadow here to rest we yield us,
For He will shield us.

2. Let evil thoughts and spirits flee before us;
Till morning cometh, watch, O Master, o’er us;
In soul and body Thou from harm defend us,
Thine angels send us.

3. Let holy thoughts be ours when sleep o’ertakes us,
Our earliest thoughts be Thine when morning wakes us,
All day serve Thee, in all that we are doing,
Thy praise pursuing.

4. As Thy belovèd, soothe the sick and weeping,
And bid the prisoner lose his griefs in sleeping;
Widows and orphans, we to Thee commend them,
Do Thou befriend them.

5. We have no refuge, none on earth to aid us,
Save Thee, O Father, who Thine own hast made us;
But Thy dear presence will not leave them lonely
Who seek Thee only.

6. Father, Thy name be praised, Thy kingdom given,
Thy will be done on earth as ’tis in Heaven;
Keep us in life, forgive our sins, deliver
Us now and ever!

Text Information

• First Line: Now God be with us, for the night is closing:
• Title: Now God Be with Us
• German Title: Die Nacht ist kommen drin wir ruhen sollen
• Author: Petrus Herbert (1566)
• Translator (from German): Catherine Winkworth
• Meter: 11.10.11.6
• Language: English
• Source: The Chorale Book for England, 1863
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: Alternate tunes: DIVA SERVATRIX, Bayeux Antiphoner, 1739; HOREB, Joseph Barnby, 1872; NIGHTFALL, Joseph Barnby, 1838-1896

Tune Information

• Name: FLEMMING
• Composer: Friedrich Ferdinand Flemming (1811)
• Meter: 11.10.11.6
• Incipit: 11122 31121 73333
• Key: A♭ Major
• Source: Flem­ming wrote the tune for male voic­es for part of Horace’s ode In­te­ger Vi­tae; it was first pub­lished as a hymn tune in the 1875 edi­tion of the Con­gre­ga­tion­al Psalm­ist
• Copyright: Public Domain