O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go - Chelsea Moon & The Franz Brothers

scripture and prayer reflection

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Lyrics

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

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

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

Romans 6:3-8

3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Psalm 139:7-10

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence?

8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

9 If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,”

12 even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

Reflection

This traditional hymn, written by George Matheson in its entirety on July 6th, 1882, was born out of anevening of deep mental suffering. Reflecting later, he described the hymn as the “fruit” of that experience of anguish.

The hymn itself is full of poetic phrases and pictures, but ultimately centers on Christ. Each stanza begins by addressing Christ by a different name — Love, Light, Joy, Cross — drawing out themes based on these various characteristics. The lyrics look at difficult circumstances — weariness, faint-heartedness, trial and suffering, and even painful and costly self-sacrifice. Yet they orient us not to dwell in the circumstances, but to look to Christ in all of these things:

Christ, as Love deep as an ocean, becomes a place of rest for the weary soul and beckons us to turn our lives over to Him.

Christ, as Light bright as midday, illumines our life when we feel our own torch flicker and threaten to go out, leading us to look to Him for light and life.

Christ, as Joy present even in pain and sorrow, grounds itself in God’s promises — represented in the rainbow — to redeem all things for our good and to one day erase all suffering.

Christ on the Cross, where He willingly laid down His life, becomes for us both a call to imitate Him in laying our lives down for others — the red blossoms symbolizing the good born out of His self-sacrificial love — as well as becoming an anchor of hope for eternal life.

When circumstances are difficult, when suffering and weariness are weighty and real, theological ideas about the sufficiency of Christ can feel hollow. This hymn grabs onto images as a way to lend theological words emotional weight and meaning. The image of being buoyed up by a love with depths as vast as the ocean, of light from a dying torch being swallowed up in the blaze of the sun, of the hope found in the rainbow after the Flood, of the great good that came from the wrongs of the Cross — these images become a source of comfort and strength even as circumstances remain unchanged. They help us catch a glimpse of what it means for Christ to love us and be with us in hard things through His Spirit.

Take some time to reflect on your own life. Which of the four images feels most helpful for your heart to hold onto? What is it about that picture that helps you orient to Christ in difficulty? What feels strengthening or encouraging about it, and why? Talk with God about what comes up.