Cross and Comfort

Nearer, My God, To Thee

Words:
st. 1-2 by Sarah F. Adams, 1841. st. 3-5 by Hervey D. Ganse (1822-1891).
Music:
'Bethany (Mason)' Lowell Mason, 1856.
Setting:
Lowell Mason, 1859.
Metre:
6 4 6 4 6 6 6 4
  1. 1Nearer, my God, to Thee,nearer to Thee!E'en though it be a crossthat raiseth me,Still all my song shall be,nearer, my God, to Thee.Nearer, my God, to Thee,Nearer to Thee!
  2. 2Though like the wanderer,the sun gone down,Darkness be over me,my rest a stone.Yet in my dreams I'd benearer, my God to Thee.Then evermore to beNearer to Thee!
  3. 3Nearer, my Lord, to thee,Nearer to thee!Who to the cross didst come,Dying for me!Strengthen my willing feet,Hold me in service sweet
  4. 4Nearer,O Comforter,Nearer to thee!Who with my loving Lord Dwellest with me!Grant me thy fellowship!Help me each day to keep
  5. 5But to be nearer still,Bring me,O God,Not by the visioned steeps Angels have trod.Here where thy cross I see,Jesus,I wait for thee,
  6. 6There in my Father's home, safe and at rest,There in my Savior's love, perfectly blest; Ageafter age to be, nearer my God to Thee.

More sheet music

Scripture

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In the hymnals

  • Written in 1840, the words are in 2,826 hymnals indexed by Hymnary.org. Their history →
  • The tune, Bethany (Mason), is in 1,454 hymnals. The tune →

Words, music and setting are in the public domain. The score is from the Open Hymnal Project (Brian J. Dumont), which places its own work in the public domain. Further sheet music is from PDHymns.com. The piano is the FluidR3 General MIDI sound font (MIT licence). How many hymnals print a hymn, and when it was written, is from Hymnary.org.

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