Sarah Adams had to say farewell often, and it was always
hard. Her mother had died when Sarah was only five—that was her first farewell.
At thirty-two, as an actress playing Lady Macbeth in London’s Richmond Theater,
she said farewell to the stage. She wanted to continue, but her health was
failing. The health of her sister was also poor, and Adams feared the day when
she would have to bid her farewell. She began to question her faith. Why did
God seem so far away?
When Adams’s pastor asked her and her sister to help him
prepare a hymnal, the two responded eagerly, writing thirteen texts and
sixty-two new tunes. As the sisters were finishing their work, their pastor
mentioned that he was planning a sermon about Jacob’s dream of a ladder
ascending to heaven and he needed an appropriate hymn. Adams soon completed the
five stanzas of “Nearer, My God, to Thee.” In her own life, she learned
that each step we take—even the difficult and painful farewells—only draws us
nearer to God.
Scriptures: Genesis 28:10-15; Psalm 119:148-152; James 4:8
Themes: Dedication, Service, Death
Lyrics for the Hymn:
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E’en though 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.
Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness be over me, my rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I’d 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’ll raise;
So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee.
By SARAH FLOWER ADAMS (1805–1848)
Reference for the Hymn:
Petersen, William. The Complete Book of Hymns (p. 580).
Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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