George Matheson (1842-1906)

The final hymn we will focus on this week was written by a remarkable man. When George was 18 months old, his mother realised that he had serious problems with his eyesight and by the age of 18 he could hardly see at all. However, he went to university, where he studied arts and divinity. He also became a gifted poet and preacher. Sadly, the woman he loved decided she did not wish to marry a blind man.

George, ‘O love that will not let me go’, on the day his sister got married! It took him 3 minutes to compose it, He said, ‘My hymn was the voice of my depression; it was wrung out of my heart’. Clearly, he understood that Christians cannot avoid pain, but the CROSS OF CHRIST enables them to overcome it.

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.

O light that followest all my way I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray, that in They sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my hear 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.

If you are passing through difficult times, I hope you will find lasting comfort, peace, love and joy in Matteson’s lovely words and, above all else, in THE CROSS OF CHRIST, which meant so much to him.