By He Reads Truth
On the day his sister was married, in the picturesque village of Innellan on the shore of Scotland, George Matheson endured one of the most traumatic and unspeakable experiences of his life. So unspeakable, he would never disclose it; he would only say this: “Something happened to me, which was known only to myself, and which caused me the most severe mental suffering. The hymn was the fruit of that suffering” (Dough 111).
The hymn was “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go,” which famous American hymnwriter Fanny Crosby would affectionately call her favorite (112).
Crosby and Matheson had something unique in common: they were both completely blind. Born with sight, Matheson’s eyes began failing over the course of his childhood, and he was fully blind by the age of eighteen. But that did not stop young George from pursuing what he loved. Coming from a wealthy merchant family in Glasgow, Matheson studied at the University of Glasgow and graduated with honors. He went on to become an influential pastor, leading a congregation of 2,000 members at St. Bernard’s Church in Edinburgh.
Believers from all over Scotland made the trek to St. Bernard’s to hear the blind preacher deliver his passionate messages from the pulpit, and congregants from all over the world sing his famous hymn to this day. Still, none but God and George himself will ever know what happened on that day in Innellan, as the man sat alone and furiously penned the words of this beloved hymn, the verses coming to him as if dictated by someone else. “It was the quickest work I ever did in my life,” he would later say. “I am quite sure the whole work was completed in five minutes” (111).
The Cross, the Joy, the Light, the Love—these were the truths that held tight to a Scottish pastor as he suffered through a pain he could not bear to name. They are the truths that hold us too.
O Love That Will Not Let Me Go
George Matheson; Albert L. Peace
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 foll’west all my way,
I yield my flick’ring torch to thee;
my heart restores its borrowed ray,
that in thy sunshine’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.
Dough, Whitney J. The Hymnwriters: Our Unknown Friends: A Biographical Guide to British and American Sacred Song. Franklin, TN: Providence House Publishers, 1995.
52 thoughts on "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go"
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Richard Ndukwe says:
No matter how much we see God as someone who maybe angry at us. God shows compassion he shows how much he loves us even when we don’t even deserve it. Gods mercy and kindness is never ending and he lets chose our path which still leads back to him. No matter how we try to avoid him he’s there.
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Caleb says:
When life became overwhelming to the point of being cornered by their worst thoughts and fears and anything else, David and even George cried out to God and he heard them. They both were psalmists that when life got tough, they sang of His goodness and love and how He can stick up for them in these hard times. Often times I cower when life gets hard. I try to just ignore it and never really deal with anything. I want to have faith and joy like these two had. Especially in dark times, I want to be able to get mad at Satan and respond with joy and hope and call on God to come to my rescue. The devil shouldn’t even have a chance against me because of my Savior and Lord. I can’t face the devil in my own strength. I can hardly face myself in my own strength. But I want my responses to life’s hard times to be that of worship. God is all powerful and all knowing, and is so worthy of our praise and thanksgiving.
God help me to have faith like that.
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Dustin says:
David relied heavily on God. When surrounded by enemies and overwhelmed, he cried to God. The picture given of God’s holy wrath when He rescues David inspires fear and awe. God’s Love for us is so deep that He would come down to us and lay near the foundations of the earth.
The hymn speaks of the smallness of man. My pitiful torch, which seems to bright to me, is nothing compared to the light of the Lord that seeks me. In Christ, I am a part of the light. I am enveloped in Him. No matter the sadness, pain, or turmoil, God is good. His joy and life are more than I can imagine or describe. No matter the burden received from following Jesus, the everlasting life in Him is worth the trial.
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Micah Gardner says:
The joy that I find through the pain that I am comes from my character
Am I happy with what’s happened, no I am not. But I am content that this is the path to fix it. And I will be with her someday -
Gabriel Messenger says:
In so many seasons of life, wet and dry, this hymn reaches parts of my soul that have been left to be forgotten both intentionally and not. Without knowing this hymn, this has been my prayer in all times, that my heart and soul would remember the cross and what it did for me. I rest my weary soul in the fathers heart knowing that he responds no matter where he or I are.
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Joshua Vest says:
It’s amazing what God will truly do for us when we are in need. God will always take care of us. Seeing the 2 Samuel 22:20, “because he delighted in me” makes me feel that God will always take care of us but, when we are doing what we are supposed to be doing spiritually and on the right road he will be even more fierce when facing the enemies that try to hinder us.
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Cooper says:
God is always there for us whether we truly realize it or not. I’ve said this time and time again and will always say it because it is so very comforting and true. To see the miracles God Did for those we believed and trusted in him is breath taking really. The hymn by George Matheson is one of my favorites and I feel like it has a true connecting between Georgia and God. The hymn mentions a few items in the first lines which attention should be focused towards
“O love that will not let me go,”
“O light that foll’west all my way,”
“O joy that seekest me through pain,”
“O cross that liftest up my head,”
Love, Light, Joy, and the Cross all things which separately are magnificent but together are truly remarkable, one cannot truly have a prosperous, healthy, happy life without each and every one of these things within in with God being the absolute center.
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Jonathan Harwood says:
The beauty and poetry that God inspires is important for the development of Christian virtue as these words are greater than what we can bring forth. They’re more beautiful than anything we know and fulfill an aching in our heart with their descriptions of something so majestic. Gods glory is evident in the grasses and fields but also in the sinews and fabric of creation. His name is glorified and his presence is inexhaustible, and that comforts me; the down-trodden and tired. The praising and interaction of a heavenly being lifts me out of the dreary existence I’m forced to march and shows a window into literal paradise. The praising of God is an evangelical act as well, the heart of stone can and will melt in the face of the fiery praise of the child of the one true God.
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Vinicius Marques says:
Through everything that we experience, the truths of God are still true. The joy, the love, the cross. What is true in the light, is still true in the dark. We have to recognize that no matter what we go through, the truths still hold true. Just like the hymn writer did here.
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Jacob Morter says:
Even through the toughest, darkest time in His life…He still leaned on God. Remembering His love will never let Him go! There’s power in remembering God is truly always with us and just wanting us to reach out and lean on Him.
Praise God.
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John Boyne says:
A love that does not let me go. So often in life we focus solely on what we need to do to maintain our relationships and not on how the grace of others is available to us in difficult times. God, the Lord of Grace, promises to hold on to us with his love no matter what. I want to be as confident at the author of this hymn to be able to say in replay that I give my life to you, God. May that be true in all our lives as we submit to the Father and live for him.
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Joshua Jones says:
What a powerful word. We often forget the sovereignty and mightiness of God when we get busy in the world. We must remember we serve a God who sent his son to die for us and will answer when we cry out. A God that saved me from my sin and depression before I even has a glimpse of what his love is like. That God is worthy of praise!
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