Abide among us with thy grace

“But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent…” Luke 24:29

Josua Stegmann, son of Ambrosius Stegmann, was born at Sülzfeld, September 14, 1588. The elder Stegmann was the Lutheran pastor at Sülzfeld. Josua entered the University of Leipzig in 1608, and for a time served as an adjunct professor of the Philosophical Faculty. He later became pastor at Stadthagen. Stegmann died of a fever, on August 3, 1632. 

Josua Stegmann wrote “Ach bleib mit deiner Gnade” as a closing hymn, on the theme “abide with us.” It is a prayer for the Lord to abide with us, developed throughout the hymn. Catherine Winkworth translated the hymn from German into English. The translation, in Common Meter, was present in both Lyra Germanica, 1858, and Chorale Book for England, 1863. Both the translation and the original hymn have retained some popularity to the present.

1. Abide among us with thy grace,
Lord Jesus, evermore,
Nor let us e’er to sin give place,
Nor grieve him we adore.

2. Abide among us with thy word,
Redeemer, whom we love,
Thy help and mercy here afford,
And life with thee above.

3. Abide among us with thy ray,
O Light that lighten’st all,
And let thy truth preserve our way,
Nor suffer us to fall.

4. Abide with us to bless us still,
O bounteous Lord of peace;
With grace and power our souls fulfill,
Our faith and love increase.

5. Abide among us as our shield,
O Captain of thy host;
That to the world we may not yield,
Nor e’er forsake our post.

6. Abide with us in faithful love,
Our God and Saviour be,
Thy help at need, oh, let us prove,
And keep us true to thee.

The hymn might be sung with most any common meter tune, and appears with the following tune in the Chorale Book of England.