Nearer, My God, to Thee is a hymn by Sarah Flower Adams, an English poet and former actress, first published in 1841. It retells the story of Jacob in Genesis 28, who fled from home, slept on a stone and dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven, as a prayer to draw closer to God through every hardship. It is famous as the hymn survivors said the band played as the Titanic sank in 1912. Its theme is James 4:8, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you."
Sarah Flower Adams (1805-1848) grew up in a literary family near London and hoped for a career on the stage; she played Lady Macbeth in 1837, but poor health ended her acting. Her minister, William Johnson Fox, asked her to write hymns for a new collection for his congregation, and in 1841 she contributed thirteen of them, including this one. It was written after a conversation about Genesis 28, and each stanza follows Jacob's night at Bethel: the setting sun, the stone pillow, the dream of a stairway to heaven with angels on it, and the pillar he set up in the morning. Adams died at forty-three, less than two years after nursing her sister Eliza through a fatal illness. Her hymn went on to be sung at the funeral of President William McKinley, who was said to have murmured its words as he died, and it is forever linked with the Titanic. Below are her five original stanzas and the 12 KJV passages behind them.
Nearer, My God, to Thee: the words
Verse 1
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
E'en though it be a cross
That raiseth me;
Still all my song would be,
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
Verse 2
Though like the wanderer,
The sun gone down,
Darkness be over me,
My rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I'd be
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
Verse 3
There let the way appear
Steps unto heaven;
All that thou send'st to me
In mercy given;
Angels to beckon me
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
Verse 4
Then, with my waking thoughts
Bright with thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs
Bethel I'll raise;
So by my woes to be
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
Verse 5
Or if on joyful wing
Cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot,
Upwards I fly,
Still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
Words: Sarah Flower Adams, first published in Hymns and Anthems, edited by William Johnson Fox (London, 1841), hymn 85. All 5 stanzas are copied from that 1841 printing (Internet Archive scan), with its lower-case thee and thy. A sixth stanza often found in hymnals (There in my Father's home) was added later by Edward Henry Bickersteth and is not printed here. Tunes: Bethany, Lowell Mason (1856), in the US; Horbury, John Bacchus Dykes (1861), in Britain. Public domain.
Though like the wanderer: Jacob's night at Bethel
1. Genesis 28:11
"And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep."
Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down, darkness be over me, my rest a stone. Jacob had cheated his brother Esau out of their father's blessing and was running for his life. Genesis says he tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows. He was alone, guilty, homeless and afraid. Adams's second stanza puts the singer in Jacob's place. You may feel like a wanderer far from home, with nothing softer than a stone to rest on. That is exactly where God met Jacob.
2. Genesis 28:12
"And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it."
Yet in my dreams I'd be nearer, my God, to thee. That night Jacob dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. Jacob had not gone looking for God; God came looking for him. Above the ladder the LORD stood and repeated the promises He had made to Abraham, adding: I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest (verse 15). A fugitive with a stone for a pillow received the greatest promise of his life.
3. Genesis 28:16
"And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not."
Then, with my waking thoughts bright with thy praise. When Jacob woke, he said: Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. That sentence describes many of our hardest seasons. Only later do we see that God was there all along. Adams's fourth stanza moves from dream to waking, from night to morning. The singer wakes not to dread but to praise. It is a picture of what happens when someone realizes that the lonely, stony place they were in was actually a meeting place with God.
4. Genesis 28:19
"And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first."
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise. In the morning Jacob set up his stone pillow as a pillar, poured oil on it, and called the name of that place Bethel. Bethel means house of God. Adams turns this into one of the most striking lines in any hymn. The very stones of grief, the hard things that made the night miserable, become the building blocks of a house of God. So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to thee. Our sorrows, given to God, can become places where we meet Him.
E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me: drawing near to God
5. James 4:8
"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded."
Nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee! The hymn's refrain is a single desire repeated over and over: to be closer to God. James gives both the invitation and the promise: Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. It is a two-way movement. We take a step toward God, and He comes toward us. James goes on to tell us to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts, because drawing near to a holy God involves turning from sin. The hymn's longing is the right longing, and God promises to answer it.
6. Hebrews 10:22
"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."
Still all my song would be. Under the old covenant, only the high priest could enter God's presence, once a year. Hebrews announces that Jesus has opened the way for everyone who trusts Him: Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Adams's hymn never names Jesus; she belonged to a Unitarian congregation, and later editors added a stanza to make the hymn more fully Christian. But the New Testament answers her question of how a person comes near to God: through the blood of Jesus, the new and living way (Hebrews 10:19-20).
7. Psalms 73:28
"But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works."
E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me. Psalm 73 is the testimony of a man who nearly lost his faith watching the wicked prosper while he suffered. When he finally went into God's sanctuary, he saw things clearly and ended with this: But it is good for me to draw near to God. Adams's first stanza makes the same choice. If it takes a cross, a burden or a sorrow, to lift her closer to God, she will accept it. That is a hard prayer to pray honestly. But those who have prayed it often say that nearness to God was worth everything it cost.
8. Philippians 3:10
"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;"
A cross that raiseth me. Paul's deepest desire was not comfort but closeness to Christ: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. He understood that knowing Christ includes sharing in His sufferings. The cross that raises is first Christ's own cross, which brings us to God, and then the crosses we carry in following Him. Adams's paradox is Paul's paradox. The way up often goes through the way down, and resurrection comes after the cross.
Steps unto heaven: angels to beckon me
9. John 1:51
"And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."
There let the way appear, steps unto heaven. Jesus Himself pointed back to Jacob's ladder. He told Nathanael: Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. In other words, Jesus is the ladder. He is the meeting place between earth and heaven, the one way God has opened for wanderers to come home. So although Adams does not name Him, Christian readers have always heard Christ in this stanza. The steps unto heaven are not steps we climb by effort; they are a Person we trust.
10. Psalms 119:71
"It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes."
All that thou send'st to me in mercy given. This is one of the hardest lines in the hymn to sing honestly: that everything God sends, including pain, is sent in mercy. The psalmist could say it: It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. Affliction taught him what comfort never had. Adams lost her mother as a small child and her father at twenty-four, and later nursed her sister to the end of her life. She knew what she was saying. It does not mean pain is good in itself; it means God can use it for good.
11. Hebrews 1:14
"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"
Angels to beckon me. In Jacob's dream the angels went up and down the ladder, busy on God's errands. Hebrews explains what angels do for God's people now: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? Adams imagines them beckoning, waving the traveler onward and upward. Whether or not we ever see them, Scripture teaches that God's angels serve His children. You are never as alone on the road as you feel. See our Bible verses about angels for more.
12. Isaiah 40:31
"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Or if on joyful wing cleaving the sky, upwards I fly. The last stanza looks to the end of the journey, when the soul rises to God. Isaiah's famous promise supplies the picture: they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Sun, moon, and stars forgot: the whole created universe falls away as the soul goes home. This is why the hymn has been sung at so many funerals, and why it was remembered on the night the Titanic sank. See Isaiah 40:31.
A short prayer
Lord God, I want to be nearer to You. When I feel like a wanderer with the sun gone down and a stone for a pillow, meet me as You met Jacob, and show me that You were in this place all along. If it takes a cross to raise me closer to You, give me grace to carry it. Thank You that Jesus is the way to heaven, the ladder between earth and Your presence. Out of my stony griefs, build a house of God, and let all my song be: nearer, my God, to You. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Go deeper: a SOAP study prompt
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Frequently asked questions
Who wrote Nearer, My God, to Thee?
Sarah Flower Adams (1805-1848), an English poet and former actress, wrote the words in 1840. They were first published in 1841 in Hymns and Anthems, a collection edited by her minister William Johnson Fox. Her sister Eliza Flower wrote the first tune. Americans usually sing it to Bethany by Lowell Mason (1856); in Britain it is sung to Horbury by John Bacchus Dykes.
Did the band really play Nearer, My God, to Thee on the Titanic?
Several survivors said the ship's band, led by Wallace Hartley, played Nearer, My God, to Thee as the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, and Hartley had reportedly said he would want it played at his funeral. Other survivors remembered ragtime or the waltz Songe d'Automne, and historians still debate it. The hymn was played at Hartley's funeral, and the story made it one of the most famous hymns in the world.
What Bible story is Nearer, My God, to Thee based on?
It is based on Jacob's dream at Bethel in Genesis 28:10-22. Fleeing from his brother Esau, Jacob slept outdoors with a stone for a pillow and dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending. In the morning he set up the stone as a pillar and named the place Bethel, house of God. Jesus later referred to the dream in John 1:51, presenting Himself as the true ladder between heaven and earth.
Why does Nearer, My God, to Thee not mention Jesus?
Sarah Flower Adams belonged to a Unitarian congregation, and her hymn speaks of God without naming Christ. Some hymnal editors added a stanza to make the Christian hope explicit, most often Edward Henry Bickersteth's There in my Father's home, safe and at rest, which mentions Christ by name. On this page the Bible notes show how the New Testament points to Jesus as the way to draw near to God (Hebrews 10:19-22; John 1:51).
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Relationship with God · Seeking the Lord · Angels · Isaiah 40:31 Meaning · Abide with Me · Suffering · Heaven · The Old Rugged Cross
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