Nearer my God to Thee : its origin and its romance

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LIBRARY OF PRINCETON

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THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Library of the Theological Seminary

PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY

Presented by
George Gray Toole

BV317.N43 S88 1906

Sutherland, Allan, b.

Nearer my God to Thee

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and its romance /

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ALLAN SUTHERLAND

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NEW YORK

FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY

PUBLISHERS

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Copyright, 1905
By The Butterick Publishing Co., Ltd.

Copyright, 1906
Br Frederick A. Stokes Company

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FAMOUS HYMNS OF THE WORLD

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NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE

LIZA and Sarah Flower
were gifted English sis-
ters, whose early lives
began and ended between
the opening and the close
of the first half of the last century ; and
yet in that brief period both left their
impress on their generation; and the
younger, Sarah, achieved undying
fame by composing the beautiful hymn,
" Nearer, my God, to Thee."

The meeting and courtship of their
parents were romantic. Benjamin
Flower was a bright young fellow
whose business frequently called him
to France, and he became early imbued
with the spirit of the French Revolu-
tion. Afterward he became the Editor
of the Cambridge Intelligencer, and
for defending in its columns the French
Revolution, and for real or imaginary
reflections on the English constitution,

FAMOUS HYMNS OF THE WORLD

he was brought to trial in 1799, and
was sentenced to pay a fine and to spend
six months in the famous or infamous
Newgate Prison.

During his imprisonment Miss Ehza
Gould, an enthusiastic young woman
of culture, whose soul was fired with
indignation at the injustice of his pun-
ishment, called upon him to express
sympathy. They proved to be con-
genial spirits; the strangers became
friends, the friends lovers, and soon
after his release they were married.
Two daughters were born to them, and
in 1810 the mother, never strong, went
to her reward. The training and edu-
cation of the children devolved upon
the father, and right nobly did he meet
this added responsibility. Both girls
were unusually talented — Eliza as a
composer of music, and Sarah as a
composer of verse.

In 1834, Sarah married William
Bridges Adams, a civil engineer. In

NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE

person she was tall and remarkably
beautiful, and her manners were charm-
ing. Believing that the stage might be
made to perform an important service,
in connection with the pulpit, in elevat-
ing mankind, she essayed to act, with
the approval of her husband, the char-
acter of Lady Macbeth. Although
she met with considerable success, she
soon learned that the demands were far
too severe for her physical powers, so
she turned her attention to literature.
She wrote a number of poems of rare
sweetness and power. " Nearer, my
God, to Thee," suggested by the story
of Jacob's vision at Bethel, as found
in Genesis 28 : 10-22, was first pub-
lished in 1841; and although it met
with some favour, it was not until 1860
that Dr. Lowell Mason's beautiful and
sympathetic music " quickened it into
glorious Hfe " and gave it a perma-
nent abiding-place in the hearts of the
people. In the great Peace Jubilee,

FAMOUS HYMNS OF THE WORLD

held in Boston in 1872, this hymn was
sung by nearly fifty thousand voices.
Dr. Mason, then in his eighty-first year,
was present, and was delighted with
the matchless melody. He died the
following August.

Mrs. Adams died in 1848, at the age
of forty-three, two years after the
death of her sister Eliza, who died
unmarried, at the same age.

Many and interesting are the stories
told in connection with the usefulness
of this hymn, which has been an inspira-
tion wherever the Christian religion has
gone. It is a special favourite of Miss
Helen Gould, whose sweet winsome-
ness and noble charity have made her
one of the best loved women of our
land.

It was sung at the great Christian
Endeavor Convention held in Phila-
delphia in December, 1900, a choir of
fifteen hundred trained voices, under
the magnetic direction of H. C. Lin-

NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE

coin, leading the vast multitude. At its
close President Eberman said, thought-
fully, " I wonder if we shall ever listen
to such singing on earth again! "

" When the officers and men of the
North Atlantic Squadron," writes
Chaplain Wright, " assembled on the
quarter deck of the battleship ' Massa-
chusetts,' at the memorial service for
the gun's crew killed in the eight-inch
turret, the most touching incident was
the singing, softly and reverently, of
' Nearer, my God, to Thee.' It had
been the favourite hymn of several of
the dead men, and the last one they had
sung, for we had closed the service with
it two nights before the disaster. Dur-
ing an experience of nearly twenty
years in the Navy I have found the
songs that last the best with the men
are such as ' Just As I Am,' * Abide
With Me,' ' Nearer, my God, to Thee,'
and ' Sun of My Soul.' "

" I have heard," writes Dr. Floyd

FAMOUS HYMNS OF THE WORLD

Tomkins, " * Nearer, my God, to Thee '
sung in camp with a brass band, and
I have sung it alone with trembling
voice when kneeling by the bedside of
the dying, and it has ever the same
message of peace."

The Rev. Millard F. Troxell, D.D.,
relates this experience : " The beau-
tiful August day was warm with sun-
shine along the lower levels, but the
three train-loads of tourists found the
summit of Pike's Peak enveloped in
mist and cloud too heavy to peer
through, so that for an hour or more
we gathered about the fire of the block-
house and tried to become better ac-
quainted. It was suggested that we
sing some popular melody. A voice
bravely began one of the many senti-
mental songs of the day, but few knew
enough of it to join in, so the singer
was left to finish it alone. Then some
one began to sing softly * Nearer, my
God, to Thee,' and before the second

NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE

line was ended it seemed as if all who
had been strangers now felt at home;
and, for the time being, the place
seemed like a very Bethel. It seemed,
too, as if the clouds were parted and
lifted by the singing, for when a little
time had quickly passed, some one ex-
claimed, ' Oh, there 's the sunshine ! '
and out we rushed to find that the
mists were rolled away, and before us
stretched the most wonderful of views."
On one occasion three distinguished
travellers in Palestine heard in the dis-
tance faint snatches of a familiar tune,
and were deeply touched, on drawing
nearer, to find a group of Syrian stu-
dents reverently singing, in Arabic,
" Nearer, my God, to Thee." One of
the hearers, in relating the story, said
that the singing of the hymn by these
youthful natives moved him to tears
and affected him more deeply than any-
thing of the kind to which he had ever
listened.

FAMOUS HYMNS OF THE WORLD

The Rev. G. B. F. Hallock, D.D.,
thus writes of his visit to Bethel on
March 12, 1902: "As we stood there,
where heaven had once come so near to
earth, I am sure that there was not one
in all our large party who did not share,
in some degree, in that ladder vision
which Jacob had; and you will not be
surprised to know that we fell into the
mood of Mrs. Sarah Flower Adams'
ever-precious hymn, and, without a
word of suggestion, sang together, with
deepest feeling, ' Nearer, my God, to
Thee ! ' Who can say that Jacob's
vision did not become ours as we softly
chanted the trustful, prayerful words !

"Is it not a sweet immortality for
this Christian poetess that her song
should thus linger about the Holy
Land, the stories of which were so dear
to her, and continue to interpret the
worshipful thoughts of Christian trav-
ellers long after she herself ceased to
sing on earth? We do not wonder that

NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE

eur martyred President [McKinley]
and so many before him and since, loved
and do love this beautiful hymn. We
shall ever count it a rare privilege that
so many of us were permitted to sing
it together on the sacred site of Bethel
itself."

A pathetic story in connection with
this hymn is told of an heroic woman
whose train was caught in the great
Johnstown flood of 1889. Hoj)elessly
imprisoned by the rising waters, and
with death surely approaching, she
breathed a prayer to her Maker, and
then, with a voice of marvellous trust-
fulness, began singing " Nearer, my
God, to Thee," while hundreds, unable
to help her, listened breathlessly. Be-
fore the last words of the hymn were
reached the brave voice was still and
the singer had gone to be with " those
who had come out of great tribulation
and had washed their robes and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb."

FAMOUS HYMNS OF THE WORLD

Dr. William H. Clagett, President
of the Board of Trustees of the Texas
Presbyterian University, kindly con-
tributes the following: " On a New
Year's Day the late Rev. James H.
Brookes, D.D., of St. Louis, was ear-
nestly praying for a deeper work of
grace in his own heart, and during his
prayer quoted the lines:

" ' Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee,
E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me.'

"As he uttered the words, the spirit
of God brought the meaning of the
last line to his mind as never before;
so much so, indeed, that he stopped in
his praying and asked, ' Do I so deeply
desire a greater consecration that I am
willing for God to send a cross, if it be
necessary, for me to receive it?'

" After an inner struggle of some
minutes he again bowed down, and,
with a full sense of the meaning of
the words he uttered, made use of the

NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE

same quotation as expressing the inner-
most desire of his heart.

" That year there came to him one
of the greatest sorrows of his Hfe
through the death of a daughter, a
bright and beautiful girl just about to
graduate from college; but he after-
wards testified that through this great
loss God had answered his prayer
and had brought him into closer com-
munion with Him than he had ever
been before."

Chaplain Henry C. McCook, who
was with our soldiers in Cuba, says:
" It would seem strange that such a
hymn as ' Nearer, my God, to Thee '
should be the most popular and appar-
ently the most widely known among all
classes of soldiers. Yet it is so. When
conducting services as Chaplain in the
camps and hospitals of the Fifth Army
Corps, and upon ships of war and trans-
ports, as well as in the camps of the
States, I found that when this hymn

FAMOUS HYMNS OF THE WORLD

was announced all the soldiers took
hearty part in the singing. One would
hardly think that the high spiritual note
touched in this familiar hymn, which
breathes longings for a nearer spiritual
communion with God, even at the cost
of human sacrifice, would truly voice
the sentiment of the rough-and-ready,
ofttime coarse and profane men who
joined with their more religious com-
rades in singing. Yet such was the
case. It was the favourite hymn at
funerals, a fact that can be understood
more easily. All soldiers are more or
less affected by the sense of the near
presence of death. The loss of their
comrades is indeed ' a cross ' ; and in the
true spirit of camaraderie they feel a
touch of woe that the companions of
the tent and of the march, who shared
with them the toils and perils of battle,
have passed away."

He also gives this interesting descrip-
tion of the closing scene on the battle-

NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE

field of Las Guasimas, June, 1898:
" Farther on lay a dead Spaniard with
covered face. A buzzard flapped from
the tree above him. Bevond was the
open-air hospital, where were two more
rigid human figures, and where the
wounded lay. That night there was a
clear sky, a quarter-moon, and an en-
veloping mist of stars, but little sleep
for any, and restless, battle-haunted
sleep for all. Next morning followed
the burial. Captain Capron was car-
ried back to the coast and buried at
Siboney. The other heroes were placed
side by side in one broad trench with
their feet to the east. In the bottom
of the grave was laid a layer of long,
thick, green leaves of guinea grass, and
over the brave fellows were piled plumes
of the royal palm as long as the grave.
At the head of the trench stood Chap-
lain Brown; around it were the com-
rades of the dead; along the road
struggled a band of patient, ragged

FAMOUS HYMNS OF THE WORLD

Cubans; and approaching from San-
tiago a band of starving women and
children for whom the soldiers gave
their lives. ' Nearer, my God, to Thee,'
sang the soldiers; and the tragedy of
Las Guasimas was done."

This noble hymn gained additional
popularity through the tragic death
of President William McKinley. His
last intelligible words, spoken just
before his soul took its flight, were:
" Nearer, my God, to Thee, e'en though
it be a cross, has been my constant
prayer." His prayer was answered. It
was a cross — one of the greatest that
could come to him and to the beloved
nation which he had served so faith-
fully — that led him through a martyr's
suiFering and death to claim a martyr's
reward, that of being ever near the
blessed Saviour. In a difl*erent way,
the prayers of his countrymen were also
answered, for although his life was
not spared, there was infused into the

NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE

hearts of all a profounder reverence
for the head of the nation, a greater
horror of assassination, a stronger love
for our country, a deeper devotion to
our political institutions, and a more
abiding faith in God.

The day of his burial at Canton, Sep-
tember 19, 1901, witnessed the most
singular and unanimous tributes of re-
spect and affection ever paid to the
memory of a human being. Seldom, if
ever, has a common sorrow found out-
ward expression in so many lands and in
so many ways; and never was there so
close an approach to church and inter-
national unity. Memorial services were
held in innumerable churches in our own
and other countries; and at half -past
three o'clock, through arrangements
previously made, all the material ac-
tivities of the country ceased, so far as
possible, for five minutes. Trolley cars
were motionless, the hum of machinery
died away, horses were stopped, not a

FAMOUS HYMNS OF THE WORLD

telegraph instrument clicked, and the
great ocean cable no longer pulsed its
messages. A Sabbath stillness was
over all. Everywhere, as clocks and
watches indicated the hour, men stood
with uncovered and bowed heads asking
God's blessing upon the stricken widow
and upon their bereaved country.

Before us as we write is a great met-
ropolitan newspaper of the following
day, its pages full of graphic descrip-
tions of the funeral service at Canton,
where the vast audience stood at the
close, with tear-dimmed eyes, while
" Nearer, my God, to Thee," was being
sung; and of telegraphic despatches
from the leading centres of the world,
in almost all of which reference is made
to the singing of this hymn in connec-
tion with memorial services.

Two of the despatches are of special
interest: The first, from New York,
dated September 19, is: "The 250
passengers of the American Hamburg-

NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE

American liner ' Belgravia,' from Ham-
burg, which arrived this afternoon at
Hoboken, as the clock struck 3 : 30, re-
ceived the sorrowful intelligence of the
President's death and funeral services.
Instantly every one stopped and stood
for five minutes with uncovered head.
While the people waited, the band
on the steamer ' Pennsylvania,' lying
alongside, played Chopin's funeral
march, and a quartet sang ' Nearer,
my God, to Thee.' "

The second despatch is from Kansas
City, Mo. : " Twenty-five thousand peo-
ple in the great auditorium this after-
noon paid loving tribute to the memory
of President McKinley. As many
more were turned away. A chorus of
seven hundred voices and a band of one
hundred pieces furnished the music.
The entire audience joined in the
singing of ' Lead, Kindly Light ' and
' Nearer, my God, to Thee.' "

In Philadelphia, the Academy of

FAMOUS HYMNS OF THE WORLD

Music was packed to its utmost capac-
ity, and this hymn was sung with mar-
vellous effect by the standing, weeping
audience. At League Island, at Girard
College, in Catholic and Protestant
churches, in Jewish synagogues and
Christian temples, the people were
drawn together by a great heart sorrow,
and gave expression to it by singing the
hymn which so appropriately and fit-
tingly set forth their feelings. On the
still autumn air the beautiful notes of
'' Nearer, my God, to Thee " rang out
with singular sweetness and distinct-
ness from the chimes of the belfry of
the historic Christ Church — the same
bells which had sounded a muffled peal
at the reception of the news of the
British blockade of Boston; which had
joyously echoed the brave full tones of
the Liberty Bell when it proclaimed
its story of liberty to the world; which
had summoned Washington to worship
when he was our first President; and

NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE

which had rung out their tribute of love
and sorrow when Washington, Lincoln,
and Garfield passed on to join the im-
mortals— these chimes now made the
air melodious with the tender notes of
the deathless hymn; and men, stopping
to listen, went on their way with up-
lifted looks, and with a fuller, deeper
understanding of the inner spiritual
teachings of the solemn words.

In every civilised country memorial
services were held, the most interesting,
perhaps, being in Westminster Abbey,
by order of the King. The burial ser-
vice was read with touching simplicity
in the presence of royalty, the full dip-
lomatic corps, distinguished men and
women, and a vast concourse of sor-
rowing people. Here, as elsewhere,
the greatest interest centred about the
singing of the hymn which was in the
heart and on the lips of our heroic
President as he went to meet his God.

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