LOVE
THAT WILL NOT LET ME GO!
Jude 2
2 Mercy unto you,
and peace, and love, be multiplied.
Jude 21
21 Keep yourselves
in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal
life.
|
O
|
ne
of my favorite hymns is O LOVE THAT WILL NOT LET ME GO and, as with most
things, there is a back story to the lyrics.
|
G
|
eorge Matheson was only
fifteen when he was told that he was losing what little eyesight he had.
Instead of giving up, Matheson immediately continued with his plans to enroll
in the University of Glasgow, and his determination lead to his graduation at
age nineteen. But as he pursued graduate studies in theology for Christian
ministry, he finally lost his sight. His sisters joined ranks beside him,
learning Greek and Hebrew to assist him in his studies. He pressed faithfully
on.
But his spirit collapsed when his fiancée, unwilling to be married to a blind man, broke their engagement and returned his ring. He never married, and the pain of that rejection never totally left him. Years later, as a well-loved preacher in Scotland, his sister came to him announcing her engagement. He rejoiced with her, but his mind went back to his own heartache. He consoled himself in thinking of God’s love which is never limited, never conditional, never withdrawn, and never uncertain. Out of this experience he wrote the hymn, O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go.
But his spirit collapsed when his fiancée, unwilling to be married to a blind man, broke their engagement and returned his ring. He never married, and the pain of that rejection never totally left him. Years later, as a well-loved preacher in Scotland, his sister came to him announcing her engagement. He rejoiced with her, but his mind went back to his own heartache. He consoled himself in thinking of God’s love which is never limited, never conditional, never withdrawn, and never uncertain. Out of this experience he wrote the hymn, O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go.
O
Love That Will Not Let Me Go | George Matheson
1.
O
Love that will 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.
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.
2.
O
Light that foll’west all my way,
I yield my flick’ring torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
I yield my flick’ring torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
3.
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.
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.
4.
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 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment