The Sailor’s Meditation, on Watch at Night

Above me hangs the silent sky;
Around me rolls the sea;

Above me hangs the silent sky;
Around me rolls the sea;
The crew is all at rest; and I
Am, Lord, alone with Thee!

Go where I may, from all remote,
Thou Lord art ever near:
No secret thought, but Thou canst note;
No word, but Thou canst hear.

When all around are sunk to sleep,
Thy presence here I find:
To me Thou walkest o’er the deep,
Or speakest in the wind.

I look up to the starry sky;
And read thy glories there:
I look down to myself, and sigh,
“Can I be still Thy care?”

I think of days and dangers past,
When I have found Thee nigh;
And wonder how Thy love can last
To such a worm as I.

I think of terrors yet at hand,
Of Judgment, and the tomb;
And ask my soul how it shall stand
To hear its final doom!

Ah, then, how all I’ve been and done
Would fill me with despair,
If to the Cross I could not run,
And find a Saviour there!

I know He has the power to aid;
I know He has the will:
And He, who once for sinners bled,
Will rescue sinners still.

Lord, arm my soul with faith in Thee,
And fill my heart with love;
My path from sin and danger free,
And guide me safe above.

And while at night the waves I beat,
Lord, often thus descend,
And grant me here communion sweet
With Thee, the sailor’s Friend.

Henry Francis Lyte