"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 follow'st all my way,
I yield my flick'ring torch to thee;
my heart restores its borrowed ray,
that in thy sunshines'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."
George Matheson 1842-1906
George Matheson wrote this exquisite hymn in 1882. He was visually impaired when he was a young boy, his vision gradually worsening until he was almost totally blind. However, he was very gifted academically, attending university and the Seminary of the Church of Scotland.
"An actual account of the writing of this hymn was found in Dr. Matheson's own personal records. Something happened to him that he described as 'known only to myself, and which caused me the most sever mental suffering.' He went on to relate that he completed the hymn in five minutes under the most unusual anointing, and that it was the fruit of that suffering. 'I had the impression rather of having it dictated to me by some inward voice that of working it out by myself. All the other verses I have ever written are manufactured articles; this came like a dayspring from on high. I have never been able to gain once more the same fervor in verse.'" *
*from the book "O Worship the King" by Joni Eareckson Tada
John MacArthur
Robert and Bobbie Wolgemuth
Blessings,
Linda
