Now I lay me down to sleep
’Mid the twilight’s gentle gloom,
Soothing me to slumbers deep
In my angel-guarded room,
While the stars look tenderly
Down upon the world and me.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
While the shadows hover near.
O, may angel pinions sweep
Where an evil would appear,
Angel footsteps softly press
’Round my bed in watchfulness.
If I should die before I wake,
And lightly leave my snowy bed,
And wander out, my way to take
Unto the side of Him who said
Beside the lake of Galilee:
“Forbid them not to come to me.”
I pray the Lord my soul to take
To walk with him ‘neath clearer skies
Where only joyful souls awake,
Where grander, sweeter songs arise,
Through all the years to come, the same
I humbly pray in Jesus’ name.