Nearer my God to Thee

Words: Sarah Flower Adams (1805–1848)
Music: Lowell Mason (1792–1872), tune: Bethany
Year: 1841 (text), 1856 (music)

Nearer, My God, to Thee is one of the most enduring and deeply moving hymns ever written—a personal prayer of longing to be closer to God, even through suffering or sorrow. The text was written by Sarah Flower Adams, a British actress-turned-poet and devout Christian. She wrote the hymn in 1841 while living in Essex, England, for inclusion in a hymnal compiled by Rev. William Johnson Fox.

Adams drew inspiration from the story of Jacob’s dream at Bethel (Genesis 28:10–22), where the patriarch saw a ladder reaching to heaven and received the promise of God’s presence. The hymn’s progression—rising "still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to thee"—is a journey from hardship to hope, from earth to heaven.

The most commonly sung tune for the hymn in American churches is “Bethany”, composed in 1856 by Lowell Mason, a leading figure in early American sacred music. The union of Adams's poetic depth and Mason’s tender melody has made this hymn a powerful expression of faith for over a century and a half.

The hymn is famously associated with solemn moments in history—perhaps most poignantly with reports that it was played by the ship’s band as the RMS Titanic sank in 1912. Yet, its message is not of despair, but of ultimate trust in God’s nearness through all circumstances.