What do “The Battle of Gettysburg”, “The Titanic” and the death President McKinley all have in common with a woman named Sarah Flower Adams? Her song was all played by various people at these events. What is the song? Nearer, My God, to Thee.
Yes, this English woman in 1841, wrote this famous hymn and her sister composed the music. What was her basis? She used Jacob’s dream to write this poem. You can read the story in Genesis 28:11-12, “And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.”
By now you are probably scratching your head and thinking that you have sung this song many times and you remember nothing about Jacob and his dream in it. You would be correct, in part, because our hymnals do not contain ALL the verses from the poem that Sarah wrote. We are all very well familiar with the first verse.
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.
It is iconically associated with the sinking of the Titanic and the musicians who played the song as the ship sunk. It was also played when President McKinley passed away as well as at his funeral as it was his favorite hymn. But what about the verses we do NOT sing. I would love for them to forever be included as they are rich with the story of Jacob.
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.
Sarah here captures the story perfectly as Jacob had become a wanderer and needed a place to rest. He grabbed a spot with a stone and started to sleep. Soon this dream started and he saw angels descending and ascending on a ladder to heaven. The Lord God soon spoke and showed him such incredible mercy as God told Jacob that he would have much land for he and his family and generations to come. God would never leave him and be with him just until God finished the plan He had for Jacob. What love, what wondrous love! What mercy flowing from the heart of God!
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.
Wow, if we continue to read in Genesis 28, we can see in verses 18 & 19 that Jacob became a changed man. Here is what the Bible has recorded; “And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel:” The encounter with God had changed him. Do we have encounters with our God that changes us? Are we able to say that He is near us?
Or, if on joyful wing cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I’ll fly,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee.
There in my Father’s home, safe and at rest,
There in my Savior’s love, perfectly blest;
Age after age to be nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee.
President McKinley didn’t have time for a full confession and repentance before his death. He was assassinated by an anarchist as he was shot and then later died from an infection to his wounds. I believe we will get to meet him in heaven as his life bears testimony of this. Look at what an author Gary Scott Smith says, “William McKinley, Jr.’s devout evangelical faith powerfully affected his life.
After a conversion experience as a youth, he regularly worshipped in Methodist churches, prayed and read the Bible daily, often testified to his faith, and consistently followed Christian moral norms. One of America’s most intensely religious presidents, McKinley enthusiastically supported missions and insisted that God directed history and his own life.” I am sure as he sang this song throughout his life, he firmly believed that in heaven, age after age, he would still be nearer to his God. Will you meet President McKinley there?
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
