Seize the Moment – Day 585
Today’s hymn focus will be
“Near to the Heart of God”
“But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.”
Dr. Cleland McAfee was a Presbyterian minister known as the pastor’s pastor. When tragedy struck the family, they would call on him for comfort. In 1903, the tragedy doubled as his own brother lost two infant daughters to diphtheria withing 24 hours of each other. The family was quarantined and could not attend the funerals and they could have people into their home to comfort them in order to prevent the spread of the deadly disease.
Dr McAfee asked God to give him the words to bring comfort to his family, and felt inspired to write the following:
O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God.
Hold us who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God.
He taught the song to his choir and they sang it outside the family’s home, bringing them comfort, peace and rest, just as it still does today.
We need to wake up to the fact that God is our shelter in the time of storm, allowing us to find peace and rest in the face of life’s turbulences.
YOUTUBE:
Near to the Heart of God
near to the heart of God,
a place where sin cannot molest,
near to the heart of God.
O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
sent from the heart of God,
hold us, who wait before thee,
near to the heart of God.
near to the heart of God,
a place where we our Savior meet,
near to the heart of God. [Refrain]
near to the heart of God,
a place where all is joy and peace,
near to the heart of God. [Refrain]