Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night.
Psalm 91:5
Words: Thomas O. Summers (1812–1882). My second child was born in 1847, and for her I wrote
Published in Hymns for Schools and Families (Richmond, Virginia & Louisville, Kentucky: J. Early, 1853).The Daylight Fades,
as far as I can recollect, about 1849.
Music: Evening Jeremiah F. Ohl, 1884 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good photo of Summers (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
The daylight fades, the evening shades
Are gathering round my head;
Father above, I praise that love
Which nightly guards my bed.
While Thou art near, I need not fear,
The gloom of midnight hour;
Blest Jesus, still from every ill
Defend me with Thy power!
Pardon my sin, and enter in
To sanctify my heart;
Spirit divine, O make me Thine,
And ne’er from me depart!