O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

George Matheson
Born: March 27, 1842, Glasgow, Scotland
Died: August 28, 1906, Edinburgh, Scotland

George Matheson was called "The Blind Preacher."  He used very powerful glasses in his youth but by the age of 20 he had completely lost his eyesight, and relied on his good sister who helped him study and prepare his sermons and who kept his house for him.  He had a wonderful memory and delivered his sermons from memory.  He was known for his optimism in life despite the loss of his sight and was a very famous preacher known throughout Scotland.  He traveled to England to preach to Queen Victoria by her own invitation.  She had his sermon on "The Patience of Job" published so more people would be able to receive it.  He wrote many sermons, articles and books, but perhaps his most enduring and widely influential literary contribution was this simple hymn.


George Matheson said the following regarding the words of this hymn:

"My hymn was com­posed in the manse of In­ne­lan [Ar­gyle­shire, Scot­land] on the ev­en­ing of the 6th of June, 1882, when I was 40 years of age. I was alone in the manse at that time. It was the night of my sister’s mar­ri­age, and the rest of the fam­i­ly were stay­ing over­night in Glas­gow. Some­thing hap­pened to me, which was known only to my­self, and which caused me the most se­vere men­tal suf­fer­ing. The hymn was the fruit of that suf­fer­ing. It was the quick­est bit of work I ever did in my life. I had the im­press­ion of hav­ing it dic­tat­ed to me by some in­ward voice ra­ther than of work­ing it out my­self. I am quite sure that the whole work was com­plet­ed in five min­utes, and equal­ly sure that it ne­ver re­ceived at my hands any re­touch­ing or cor­rect­ion. I have no na­tur­al gift of rhy­thm. All the other vers­es I have ever writ­ten are man­u­fact­ured ar­ti­cles; this came like a day­spring from on high." (101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck. Kregel Publications, 1982, emphasis added)

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

O Love that wilt not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in thee;

I give thee back the life I owe,

That in thine ocean depths its flow

May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,

I yield my flickering torch to thee;

My heart restores its borrowed ray,

That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day

May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to thee;

I trace the rainbow through the rain,

And feel the promise is not vain,

That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,

I dare not ask to fly from thee;

I lay in dust life’s glory dead,

And from the ground there blossoms red

Life that shall endless be.

I first encountered this hymn at the BYU Choral Academy Workshop.  It is not in our LDS hymnbook, but is a common hymn in many Christian churches.  The arrangement I heard at the Choral Academy (and therefore the one I am teaching the our ward choir) was composed by Joseph Martin.  To be honest, I did not fall in love with it instantly.  In fact, it wasn't until I heard a group of BYU students perform it for us, that I felt like I truly understood it, and was deeply moved by it.  As I listened I felt like every line was full of personal meaning just for me.  I believe the words of this hymn were truly inspired, and when one receives the message of this hymn through the spirit, the spirit will tailor the meaning of the words to each individual.

I have read and sung this text over and over, and it continues to speak to me.  There is so much exquisite, meaningful imagery throughout the piece.  I could go on and on about each line of text, but I'll just mention one.  The first line, "O Love that will not let me go" brings to my mind the image of Christ's hands pierced for us, and ever outstretched to receive us home, as the prodigal son returned home to the outstretched arms of his father.  No matter what our weaknesses, no matter how often we fail, His is a love that will not ever give up on us.  We are engraven upon His hands, and He will not let us go.  I cannot wait to share this hymn with our ward.

Children of the Heavenly Father

Words:  Karolina W. Sandell-Berg, born 1832, Sweden

Music: Traditional Swedish Melody, arranged by Oskar Ahnfelt, born 1813, Sweden

On February 26th, our choir will be singing an arrangement of this hymn by Dan Forrest.  It has a cello obligato and we will be joined by a children's choir which is singing the first verse and a descant over the last verse.  It will be lovely!

 Here is a link to the Dan Forrest Choral Library.  You'll find the title about half way down the page, and you can listen to a recording of it.  

Children of the Heavenly Father

Children of the heav’nly Father

Safely in His bosom gather;

Nestling bird nor star in Heaven

Such a refuge e’er was given.

God His own doth tend and nourish;

In His holy courts they flourish;

From all evil things He spares them;

In His mighty arms He bears them.

Neither life nor death shall ever

From the Lord His children sever;

Unto them His grace He showeth,

And their sorrows all He knoweth.

Though He giveth or He taketh,

God His children ne’er forsaketh;

His the loving purpose solely

To preserve them pure and holy.

Lina Sandell was only 26 when she and her father went were on a boat, and he fell overboard and drowned before her eyes.  It is said that that experience is what inspired her to write hymns.  She wrote 650 hymns!

Oscar Ahnfelt composed or arranged the music for Sandell's hymns.  He traveled throughout Scandinavia singing her hymns and accompanying himself on a 10 string guitar.  Sandell wrote, "Ahnfelt has sung my songs into the hearts of the people."  

Though Deepening Trials

Text: Eliza R. Snow, 1804–1887

Music: George Careless, 1839–1932

Well, after a nice long break, the La Cueva Ward choir has resumed rehearsals.  We'll sing on February 12th, "Though Deepening Trials," to accompany the speakers' topic, "Adversity."  We're just doing the Hymplicity arrangement, but omitting the 4th verse because it's just a little too long.

To be honest, this isn't my most favorite hymn--there are other hymns I like better to go with this topic, but I was looking for something we could put together quickly since we'll only have 2 rehearsals to prepare it, and we're working on other things as well.  It's nice, but not my favorite.

But often, when I learn about a hymn, and the people who wrote it, I learn to love the hymn.  So here's a little bit about Eliza R. Snow, and George Careless, who were both pretty remarkable pioneers!

          

Eliza R. Snow

• Born- 1804 in Becket, Massachusetts
• Her brother, Lorenzo would serve as the 5th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
• A talented writer from an early age.
• At just 22 years old, she was requested by several newspapers to write a funeral mass for former Presidents John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, (both of whom died on July 4, 1826).
• Joined the church in 1835, and shortly thereafter moved to Kirtland, Ohio with the Saints.
• Wrote many poems that have been set to music including "O My Father," "How Great the Wisdom and the Love," "In Our Lovely Deseret," and of course, "Though Deepening Trials."
• Served in the church as secretary of the RS under Emma Smith as president, helped organize the first Primary, and served as General RS president for 21 years until shortly before her death.
• a cool quote from Eliza, “There are many of the sisters whose labors are not known beyond their own dwellings, and perhaps not appreciated there. But what difference does that make? If your labors are acceptable to God, however simple the duties, if faithfully performed, you should never be discouraged.” 

George Careless

• Born 1839 in London
• Joined the church when he was 11 years old
• George loved music from an early age.  He had a beautiful clear soprano voice as a boy and also learned to play the violin.
• His father thought his music was a waste of time, and while others recognized & encouraged his talent, his father told him to either give it up or leave the family.  So George left home when he was 13.
• Because of the kindness of a friend, he was able to attend the Royal Academy of Music.  He finished in 3 years instead of 4, and paid his friend back with his first earnings.
• Served the church by improving the musical activities of the church in England.  
• At Elder William C. Staines encouragement, he came to America in 1864, sacrificing a promising musical career in London.  On his ship, the Hudson, he led a choir composed of other Saints who were also immigrating to Utah.
• Was called by Brigham Young to "take the Tabernacle Choir . . .  and lay a foundation for good music in Utah."
• At the first rehearsal, the Tabernacle was still under construction, had no heating or lighting, and choir members held a candle in one  hand, and their music in the other.
• George resigned his post as the director of the Tabernacle Choir after serving 11 years
• Some of the hymns he composed music for are, "The Morning Breaks," "Prayer is the Soul's Sincere Desire," "O Thou Kind and Gracious Father," "He Died the Great Redeemer Died," and of course, "Though Deepening Trials." 

Though Deepening Trials

Though deepening trials throng your way,

Press on, press on, ye Saints of God!

Ere long the resurrection day

Will spread its life and truth abroad.

Though outward ills await us here, 

The time, at longest, is not long,

Ere Jesus Christ will reappear 

Surrounded by a glorious throng. 

Lift up your hearts in praise to God, 

Let your rejoicings never cease.

Though tribulations rage abroad

Christ says, "In me, ye shall have peace."