Lead Kindly Light

Dr. Robert Meyers introduced me to a beautiful hymn while at UCC. I always loved it--its haunting melody and powerful lyrics. It was the prelude at church today and I was once again reminded of its power. Here is the Wikipedia entry about the hymn followed by the first line of lyrics:

"Lead, Kindly Light" is a hymn with words written in 1833 by John Henry Newman and 4th verse by Edward H. Bickersteth, Jr.. The tune was written by John B. Dykes in 1865.

As a young priest, John Newman became sick while in Italy and was unable to travel for almost three weeks. In his own words:

Before starting from my inn, I sat down on my bed and began to sob bitterly. My servant, who had acted as my nurse, asked what ailed me. I could only answer, "I have a work to do in England." I was aching to get home, yet for want of a vessel I was kept at Palermo for three weeks. I began to visit the churches, and they calmed my impatience, though I did not attend any services. At last I got off in an orange boat, bound for Marseilles. We were becalmed for whole week in the Straits of Bonifacio, and it was there that I wrote the lines, Lead, Kindly Light, which have since become so well known.

Lead, Kindly Light was sung by a soloist on the RMS Titanic during a hymn-singing gathering led by Rev. Ernest C. Carter, shortly before the ocean liner struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912.^[1]

The first verse is:

Lead, Kindly Light

"Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on! The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on! Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene; one step enough for me."