Then Sings My Soul

I have been reading a book by Robert J. Morgan entitled Then Sings My Soul. It is a book about the stories behind the Hymns. I thought that I would post some of the background information with the hymn playing on the playlist. Enjoy!

It was reported that the band aboard the Titanic gallantly played Nearer My God to Thee as the great liner sank to its watery grave on April 14, 1912. A Canadian survivor told of being comforted by its strains.

Sarah( the author) grew up enjoying the spotlight. She showed great interest in the stage and dreamed about being an actress. In 1834 she married William Brigdes Adams, a civil engineer. The couple lived in England where Sarah could be near the great theaters. In 1837 she played Lady Macbeth in the Richmond Theater n London to rave reviews.

Her frail health hampered her career, however, and she found herself focusing more on her literary gifts. It is said that she wrote quickly, as if under compulsion; and seldom did editors find anything to change in her works. Among her compositions were hymns of praise to the Lord. Sarah's sister, Eliza, a gifted musician, often wrote the music for her hymns. The two were very close.

Sarah offered to write a hymn based on the passage Genesis 28:20-22. For the rest of the week, she poured over the passage, visualizing Jacobs sleeping with a stone for his pillow as he dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven. The following Sunday, South Place Unitarian Church sang Sarah's Nearer My God to Thee

Eliza, who was suffering for tuberculosis, died in 1846. Sarah, too, had faithfully cared for her sister during this illness but by the time Eliza died, Sarah, too, was showing signs of consumption.

She passed away on august 14, 1848, at age 43.