O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go

I will give you a warning that this hymn uses some old English, and is a little hard to read, so it may be worth reading through the history first to gain an understanding of the background, and reading through a couple of times, but I do think it is a good one.

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 followest all my way, I yield my flickering 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 thru 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 was the author of this hymn.  As a teenager, he learned that his poor eyesight was deteriorating further.  Despite this physical challenge, he attended university and graduated at age 19.  While attending graduate school in preparation for Christian ministry, he became totally blind.  His sisters helped him learn Greek and Hebrew as he pressed on through school.  He had even gotten engaged.  Unfortunately, his spirit was broken when his fiancée broke off the engagement because she was unwilling to be married to a blind man.  He never married and the pain of the rejection never left him.  Years later, his sister came to him to announce her engagement.  Although he rejoiced with her, his mind returned to his own personal heartache and rejection.  Out of this experience, it is said that he wrote the hymn “O Love that wilt not let me go.”

I like the following phrases in this song:

• “I give Thee back the life I owe” – This hymn reminds me of the Scripture in I Cor. 6:20 that reads “You were bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”  God purchased us with the blood of His Son.  But have we paid Him back by fully submitting our lives to Him?  Have we given back what we owe?  Although we can’t pay him back completely, we can give Him what we do have.  Our lives, our wills, our talents, our possessions.  We can give Him everything. 
• “I trace the rainbow thru the rain” – Are you the type person that finds the silver lining to every cloud, or the person that looks for the dark clouds on an “Unclouded Day” (another hymn for another time)?  If we know that the promise is in the “rainbow,” we ought to search for and trace the rainbow thru the rain.  We ought to pray “Lord, what are you trying to teach me in this storm of life?”  “Lord, I know you are working in my problems, help me to see your Hand during this tough time.”  Those prayers take the focus off our problems, and turn our eyes upon Him.
• “Cross that lifted up my head” – For me, images and pictures of the Cross typically cause be to bow my head more often than lifting my head.  That bowing of the head is done in reverence to the Lord.  However, there are times when we can be discouraged or downtrodden.  It is during these times, the Lord can and will come and “lift our heads.”  Psalm 3:3 reads “But Thou, O Lord, are a shield for me.  My glory and the lifter of my head.”  We can look to the Cross for encouragement, and as a reminder that we are important to Him – important enough that He died for us.

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us.  Hopefully, this is an early enough reminder to the guys on this email to do something nice for your wives.  But I want to take you back to elementary school for a minute.  Was your elementary school like mine where you decorated a plain white lunch bag with Valentine’s decorations, taped it to the front of your desk, and all the kids in class placed candy and cards in everyone else’s bag?  As a young boy I remember, most of the time all I wanted to give was a generic Valentine’s card (Batman, Spiderman, Star Wars, etc.) with generic candy like Big Red gum, Red Hots, or Hershey kisses.  No card or candy that had the “L” word on it.  However, there was always that one special girl that I wanted to give a card and candy to that contained a subtle hint.  Maybe the candy hearts that said “Like me?  Yes or No.”  You know what I am talking about.  I wanted it to be subtle so that I didn’t have to feel rejected if she didn’t like me.  If she didn’t get the hint, then the phrase on the candy was meaningless.  If she got the hint, the phrase was powerful.  My goal, however, was not to be rejected.  The author of this hymn experienced a deep, personal rejection from his fiancée due to his blindness.  The point of this hymn, however, is to remind us that there is someone who loves us no matter what is going on in our lives – a love that wilt not let us go.  That “Special Someone” won’t reject us because of how we look, how we act, who are parents are, what we have done in the past, what physical problems we have, or what side of the tracks we were born on.  He just loves us.  We don’t have to send Him a note and ask “God, do you love me?  Check Yes or No.”  We can be confident that His love is unchanging and everlasting.  So do something for that “Special Someone” in your life.  Yes, your spouse, but also do something for the Lord.  Show His love to someone who needs it. What better gift to give on Valentine’s Day than that.

If you aren’t familiar with the tune of this hymn, take a listen to David Phelps of the Gaither Vocal Band sing it.  I think you will enjoy it.  Here’s the link: https://youtu.be/kfigyNAmRx8?si=QKdqDfnCQeG8DVMj