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Nearer, My God, To TheeSarah Adams was a lover of music. She and her sister put together a hymnal for their church. While they were working on the project, their pastor asked them if there was a song to accompany his upcoming sermon on the story of Jacob's ladder from Genesis 28:10-22. Sarah launched herself into the idea of writing a song for it, and "Nearer, My God, To Thee" was the result.
Sarah F. Adams
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee,
E'en tho' it be a cross that raiseth me;
Still all my song shall be,
"Nearer my God to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!"
Tho' like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness be over me, my rest a stone,
Yet in my dreams I'll be
Nearer my God to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
There let the way appear, steps unto heav'n;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy giv'n -
Angels to beckon me
Nearer my God to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
Then with my waking thoughts, bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs, Bethel I raise;
So by my woes to be
Nearer my God to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
Or if on joyful wing, cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon and stars forgot, upward I fly,
Still all my song shall be,
"Nearer my God to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!"
The hymn has had a larger impact than Sarah would have thought. Many stories are told about the hymn and its use. Some noted theologians on a trip through the Middle East reported being deeply moved by a band of Syrians standing together and singing it. In 1936, a woman was on her way to the mission field when her train was caught in the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, flood. Hopelessly lost, she stood atop the sinking car and sang, "Nearer, my God, to Thee . . ." In 1912, aboard the ill fated Titanic, survivors said the band played this hymn as the ship sank.
Most of the song can be understood by reading through the Genesis account of Jacob's ladder, but there is an interesting thread through the song that I'd like to illustrate. Jacob was on the run when he had this vision. Times were not good. It is this vision of God in tough times that makes this hymn unusual.
The first line says it quite succinctly. I want to be nearer to God at all costs, even if that cost is a cross. At what cost would you draw nearer to God? Your immediate comfort? Your job? Your family? Your life? The real question is, how important is your relationship with God? The subplot in this hymn is simple. All that occurs in my life is God's attempt to drive me nearer to Him. The sooner I recognize that and cooperate with Him, the better off I'll be.
Look at some of the circumstances mentioned in this hymn. The first verse speaks of a cross. The second refers to being a wanderer, to being in darkness with only a stone for a pillow. The third verse says that all that God gives is given in mercy. The fourth verse cries, in praise, that it is my woes that bring me nearer to God. Verse five says that death itself is merely that which brings me closest to God.
We have forgotten that suffering is God’s chosen method to purify His own. James says that trials bring us to perfection (James 1:2-3). Noah learned that by building an ark and surviving a flood that killed every human being alive. Abraham learned that by leaving all that he knew to go to a land that God promised, and by offering his own son as a sacrifice to God. Joseph learned that through being enslaved, wrongfully accused, and falsely imprisoned. Moses learned that in his desert experience before God put him to use freeing Israel from Egypt. Joshua learned it through 40 years in the desert and the rest of his life in battle in Canaan. Paul indicates that perseverance in persecution is evidence of our worthiness to be a part of the kingdom of God (2 Thess. 1:4-5). Peter says suffering proves faith (1 Peter 1:6-7).
Suffering is promised to the believer. Suffering is for our benefit. And we know that God causes all things to work together for our good. May our prayer be the same. "Nearer, my God, to Thee, even though it be a cross that raiseth me."
And this is why we're told to encourage each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Getting God's truth in musical form helps us remember it more.
ReplyDeleteI have not read the book you mentioned, but I am guessing one of the reasons hymns are generally out of favor would be the language and sentence structure characteristic of the older hymns, which is no doubt even more unfamiliar to people these days than when I was saved in the mid-70s (hymns were new to me, as we encountered no music in the Catholic masses of my youth, unless one attended “High Mass”). Personally, as a young person very much enamored with the popular music of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s (pre-disco, that is :), hymns took a long time to “grow on me” (and still, to this day, I only enjoy the melodious ones).
ReplyDeleteAfter reading through your post, I had an immediate thought about your statements, “Suffering is promised to the believer. Suffering is for our benefit. And we know that God causes all things to work together for our good.” That answers well a few common questions many people pose: “Why does God allow bad (or painful) things to happen to us?” or “Why does God rescue us from our lost condition only to leave us in this sinful world to struggle through life?” For our good and His glory.
ReplyDeleteAs I commented on 10/13/24, I am not real clear about the distinctions between “psalms,” “hymns,” and “spiritual songs” as used in Col. 3:16. All three terms seem to be defined generally as “religious songs of praise,” yet we think of hymns as a particular style--one differing from other “praise songs.” Can you offer any clarification on any distinction in those terms? (I searched your posts for a definition of “hymn” but didn’t see one.) How do you use the word for your “Hymnody” and “Col. 3:16” series and why?
ReplyDeletePaul refers to psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs in both Col 3:16 and in Eph 5:19. Scholars are not in agreement as to the exact definitions, but the idea seems to be that psalms are the songs taken from the Jewish "hymnal" -- the book of Psalms. Hymns were poetic expressions of praise, like our modern "ode." Spiritual songs were simplified praises. It appears that Paul was not trying to define different genres, but to refer to a wide range of music used to praise God, where the praising of God is the main theme.
DeleteOK, thanks; that makes good sense (and concurs with the commentary I consulted before replying on 10/13/24). I know that we have all agreed here that style of praise music is less important than its content; it’s good that Paul gives us those clear directives to always keep at the forefront, in light of how music styles have changed (and will continue to change) over the centuries.
DeleteThis is one of the hymns I chose to transcribe to bagpipe music. I have played it at funerals.
ReplyDeleteI guess death is the nearest one gets to God, isn't it?
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