He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Psalm 91:11
Words: Samuel Lover, Irish Evenings, 1846.
Music: Bergamo Harold B. Adams, in The Morning Light! by Solomon W. Straub (Chicago, Illinois: Root & Sons, 1880), number 34 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good photo of Adams (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
Oh, watch you well by daylight!
By daylight you may fear;
But keep no watch in darkness,
The angels then are near.
For Heav’n the sense bestoweth
Our waking life to keep;
But tender mercy showeth
To guard us in our sleep.
Refrain
Oh, watch you well by daylight!
By daylight you may fear;
But keep no watch in darkness,
The angels then are near.
Oh, watch you well in pleasure!
For pleasure oft betrays;
But keep no watch on sorrow,
When joy withdraws its rays;
For in the hour of sorrow,
As in the darkness drear,
To Heaven trust the morrow,
For angels then are near.
Refrain
Oh, watch you well when fortune
Sits smiling at your door;
When wealth and influence, mighty,
Are growing more and more;
Be firm, and do not falter,
Be true to God and man,
And Heaven will reward you,
As nothing else e’er can.
Refrain