O love that will not let me go

SATB divisi a capella, 3’45”

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 follows 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.

George Matheson (1842-1906)

George Matheson was a Scottish theologian and preacher who gradually lost vision from the age of 20. The text was written in 1882, in response to “severe mental suffering” on the night of his sister’s marriage. We know little about whether the pain he felt was triggered by losing his sister to marriage, or by an earlier memory of his fiancé who broke off their engagement after learning about his impending blindness. Yet, this hymn text was written in the midst of the feeling of loss, and serves as a powerful message of an unending, divine love. My composition aims to bring new life to the text, as well as to reflect on the blessings that those of us able-sighted can enjoy – oceans, sunshines, and rainbows.

This score is published by Muziksea.