John Keble: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Sun of My Soul

John Keble

“Sun of My Soul” as printed in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920).

John Keble: Collected Lyrics Text 1 1920 · historical text
Public domainHymnSacred song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Army and Navy Hymnal, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

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Sun of my soul! thou Saviour dear,

It is not night if thou be near:

O may no earthborn cloud arise

To hide thee from thy servant's eyes!

When the soft dews of kindly sleep

My weary eyelids gently steep,

Be my last tho't—how sweet to rest

For ever on my Saviour's breast!

Abide with me from morn till eve,

For without thee I cannot live;

Abide with me when night is nigh,

For without thee I dare not die.

If some poor wand'ring child of thine

Has spurned today the voice divine,

Now, Lord, the gracious work begin,

Let him no more lie down in sin.

Come near and bless us when we wake,

Ere thro' the world our way we take;

Till in the ocean of thy love

We lose ourselves in heaven above.

A-men.

Credits

Written by John Keble

Words by John Keble. Historical text published in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920), “Sun of My Soul”

The 1920 published edition is in the public domain in the United States (pre-1931 publication). Entries whose credited author died more than 70 years ago are also in the public domain in life-plus-70 jurisdictions; traditional and anonymous entries are public domain. Pages whose scan quality is below the proofread threshold are held for review.

How to read this historical text and its source

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Retrieved 2026-10-26. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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