Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.

Sarah Flower Adams 1805–48

Nearer to Thee

NEARER, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee!

E’en though it be a cross

That raiseth me;

Still all my song shall be,

Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee!

Though like the wanderer,

The sun gone down,

Darkness be over me,

My rest a stone;

Yet in my dreams I ’d be

Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee!

There let the way appear

Steps unto heaven;

All that thou send’st to me

In mercy given;

Angels to beckon me

Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee!

Then, with my waking thoughts

Bright with thy praise,

Out of my stony griefs

Bethel I ’ll raise;

So by my woes to be

Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee!

Or if on joyful wing

Cleaving the sky,

Sun, moon, and stars forgot,

Upward I fly,

Still all my song shall be,

Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee!