MUSIC. HENLEY. For comments on this tune see [Hymn 188].
202. Nearer, my God, to Thee
Sarah Flower Adams, 1805-48
A hymn of high poetic quality which has preserved its popularity from generation to generation. It is based on the story of Jacob at Bethel in Gen. 28:10-22:
And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 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.... 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.
Sarah Flower Adams was the daughter of Benjamin Flower, an editor; she married William B. Adams, an engineer and inventor, in 1834. She was a member of a Unitarian congregation in London. A woman of fine intellect, she wrote much prose and verse, and was a friend of Robert Browning. She died of tuberculosis, contracting the disease while caring for her sister, Eliza, who had fallen victim to the same disease two years earlier.
MUSIC. BETHANY was written by Lowell Mason for this hymn. Its resemblance to the tune of the well-known “Oft in the stilly night” has been noted. The tune to this hymn was played by the ship’s band on board the “Titanic” as the vessel sank on its maiden voyage, Sunday, April 14, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg in the Atlantic. 1635 passengers were lost, ending life’s voyage with the strains of the familiar and appropriate prayer resounding across the waters—“Nearer, my God, to Thee.”
For comments on Lowell Mason see [Hymn 12].
203. When the weary, seeking rest
Horatius Bonar, 1808-89