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The United Methodist Hymnal · No. 480 · Words: George Matheson · Tune: ST. MARGARET
O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go
Create PowerPoint slides from this hymn →Written by Scottish minister George Matheson in 1882, reportedly in a moment of personal anguish, this hymn meditates on the unconditional love, light, and joy of God that sustains the soul through suffering. Its imagery of rest, yielding, and the rainbow through rain has made it one of the most beloved hymns in the English-speaking world.
Verse 1
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.
Verse 2
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.
Verse 3
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.
Verse 4
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.
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