Public-Domain Rhyming Christian Poetry
Poems About Jesus Staying Near
Christian Poems About JesusAbide with Me
Abide with me! fast falls the evening tide,
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay on all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour,
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Overview Short Summary
The speaker asks Christ to remain near as evening deepens, helpers fail, change surrounds life, and death approaches.
Faith Reflection Christian Meaning and Reflection
Jesus’ love is shown as abiding presence. The poem does not deny change or mortality; it trusts the One who does not change.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Presence: Christ stays when other supports fail.
- Unchanging love: Jesus remains steady amid decay.
- Eternal hope: His presence gives courage beyond death.
Scriptural Context Biblical Connection
Hebrews 13:5 promises that God will not leave or forsake, and John 15:4 uses the language of abiding in Christ.
Reader Application Best Use
Excellent for evening prayer, grief, illness, funerals, loneliness, or a touching poem about Jesus never leaving.
Poetic Form Rhyme and Meter
Each four-line stanza uses rhyming couplets, AABB, with long measured lines.
Close Reading Stanza-by-Stanza Explanation
Opening
Evening and failing helpers establish human vulnerability.
Middle
Change is contrasted with Christ’s unchanging presence.
Conclusion
The cross, light, and heaven answer fear of death.
Poetic Technique Imagery and Literary Devices
Evening, darkness, fading day, cross, morning, and heaven create a movement from mortality toward hope.
Glorying in the Cross
Didst thou, Lord Jesus, suffer shame,
And bear the cross for me?
And shall I fear to own thy name,
Or thy disciple be?
Forbid it, Lord, that I should dread
To suffer shame or loss;
O, let me in thy footsteps tread,
And glory in thy cross.
Overview Short Summary
The speaker remembers Jesus bearing shame and asks for courage to follow Him without hiding the Christian faith.
Faith Reflection Christian Meaning and Reflection
The love shown at the cross becomes a reason for loyalty. The poem connects gratitude with willingness to identify openly with Jesus.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Calvary love: Jesus bears shame for the believer.
- Discipleship: Love calls for courageous following.
- Christian witness: The speaker refuses to hide Christ’s name.
Scriptural Context Biblical Connection
Galatians 6:14 speaks of glorying in the cross, while Luke 9:23 calls disciples to take up the cross and follow Jesus.
Reader Application Best Use
Suitable for Good Friday, youth devotion, confirmation, church recitation, or a very short cross poem.
Poetic Form Rhyme and Meter
The two common-meter quatrains follow an alternating ABAB rhyme pattern.
The Cross
‘Tis my happiness below
Not to live without the cross,
But the Saviour’s power to know,
Sanctifying every loss:
Trials must and will befall;
But with humble faith to see
Love inscribed upon them all,—
This is happiness to me.
God in Israel sows the seeds
Of affliction, pain, and toil;
These spring up, and choke the weeds
Which would else o’erspread the soil;
Trials make our faith sublime,
Trials give new life to prayer,
Lift us to a holier clime,
Make us strong to do and bear.
Overview Short Summary
Trials are viewed through the Savior’s power, with love discovered even in seasons of loss, pain, and spiritual struggle.
Faith Reflection Christian Meaning and Reflection
The poem should not be used to call suffering easy. Its central claim is that Jesus can sanctify loss and keep hardship from becoming meaningless.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Love in trials: The believer seeks Christ within hardship.
- Spiritual growth: Trials deepen prayer and faith.
- Endurance: The Savior supplies strength to bear difficulty.
Scriptural Context Biblical Connection
Romans 5:3–5 connects suffering, endurance, character, and hope, while Romans 8:35 asks what can separate believers from Christ’s love.
Reader Application Best Use
Best for hardship, recovery, disappointment, pastoral care, or a poem about Jesus’ love when life is difficult.
Poetic Form Rhyme and Meter
The eight-line stanzas use regular alternating rhyme, ABABCDCD.
Close Reading Stanza-by-Stanza Explanation
Stanza 1
The cross is interpreted through the Savior’s sanctifying power.
Stanza 2
Affliction is pictured as cultivating prayer, strength, and holiness.
Joy Over One Sinner
O how divine, how sweet the joy,
When but one sinner turns,
And, with a humble, broken heart,
His sins and errors mourns!
Pleased with the news, the saints below,
In songs their tongues employ;
Beyond the skies the tidings go,
And heaven is filled with joy.
Well pleased the Father sees, and hears
The conscious sinner’s moan;
Jesus receives him in his arms,
And claims him for his own.
Nor angels can their joy contain,
But kindle with new fire;
“The sinner lost is found,” they sing,
And strike the sounding lyre.
Overview Short Summary
Earth and heaven rejoice when one sinner repents, and Jesus receives the returning person as His own.
Faith Reflection Christian Meaning and Reflection
Jesus’ love is welcoming rather than reluctant. Repentance is met with restored belonging and joy, not humiliation.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Repentance: The sinner turns with a humbled heart.
- Welcome: Jesus receives the returning person.
- Heavenly joy: Restoration becomes a celebration.
Scriptural Context Biblical Connection
Luke 15:7 and 10 describe joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.
Reader Application Best Use
Ideal for baptism, testimony, recovery, Sunday school, conversion, or a rhyming poem about Jesus loving sinners.
Poetic Form Rhyme and Meter
Four-line stanzas use alternating rhyme, usually ABAB, with a simple narrative rhythm.
Bethesda
Around Bethesda’s healing wave,
Waiting to hear the rustling wind
Which spoke the angel nigh, who gave
Its virtue to that holy spring,
With patience and with hope endued,
Were seen the gathered multitude.
Bethesda’s pool has lost its power!
No angel, by his glad descent
Dispenses that diviner dower
Which with its healing waters went;
But he, whose word surpassed its wave,
Is still omnipotent to save.
Saviour! thy love is still the same
As when that healing word was spoke;
Still in thine all-redeeming name
Dwells power to burst the strongest yoke!
O, be that power, that love, displayed,
Help those whom thou alone canst aid.
Overview Short Summary
The poem recalls the pool of Bethesda and declares that Jesus’ healing love and saving power remain unchanged.
Faith Reflection Christian Meaning and Reflection
Christ’s compassion is not limited to one ancient place. The poem moves from the lost power of the pool to the continuing love of the Savior.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Healing compassion: Jesus sees weakness and suffering.
- Unchanging love: His care remains the same.
- Saving power: Christ’s word surpasses the pool.
Scriptural Context Biblical Connection
John 5:1–9 tells of Jesus meeting and healing the man at Bethesda.
Reader Application Best Use
Suitable for healing services, hospital ministry, illness, compassion themes, or a rhyming poem about Jesus caring for the broken.
Poetic Form Rhyme and Meter
Six-line stanzas use linked end rhyme, commonly ABABCC.
Close Reading Stanza-by-Stanza Explanation
Stanza 1
The historical pool and waiting crowd are introduced.
Stanza 2
The poem contrasts the vanished pool with Christ’s continuing power.
Later stanzas
The prayer turns personally toward the Savior’s love.
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