Nearer, my God, to thee
Nearer, my God, to thee. Sarah Flower Adams* (1805-48).
Written in 1840, and published in Hymns and Anthems (1841), a book for the use of the Unitarian congregation of William Johnson Fox* at South Place Chapel, Finsbury, London (available online: https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/614). The hymn was included in the SPCK Hymns for Public Worship (1852); and in the First Edition of A&M (1861), in four stanzas, omitting the last (‘Or if on joyful wing’). It is based on the story of Jacob’s dream (Genesis 28: 10-22), and presents a potent combination of two themes: human suffering (the cross in stanza 1 is not the Cross of Jesus, but a cross that has to be borne) and the merciful presence of...
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MLA style (see MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd Ed.)
. "Nearer, my God, to thee."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press. Web. 21 Apr. 2026.<
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/n/nearer,-my-god,-to-thee>.
Chicago style (see The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.)
. "Nearer, my God, to thee."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, accessed April 21, 2026,
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/n/nearer,-my-god,-to-thee.