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!
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!
Sarah Flowers Adams, 1841
Read Genesis 28:10-22
This hymn was reportedly the favorite of Queen Victoria and King Edward VII and US Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. It calls us to remember and gain strength from God’s presence with us in trying times. In trying times of our own, may we remember that the best place to be is near to God, and look forward to the time when that nearness will be realized in His presence.