by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n
Songs are magnificent. There is a reason God wants us to teach by singing, and I was reminded of this powerfully one night recently after I preached a lesson in a meeting. My lesson was called “Come to Bethel,” and I discussed Genesis 28, Jacob’s leaving the land, the sun going down (then later rising), coming back, wrestling with God, and calling the place Bethel. We connected dots to Jesus’ statement in John 1:51 since He is the true gate of heaven. All of that was, in my mind, a fairly normal lesson with significant implications. But that wasn’t what completed the night.<\/p>\n
At the end of the lesson, Andy Diestelkamp led “Nearer, my God, to Thee.” It’s always been a wonderful song to me, but this night it took on even greater meaning because it tells the story of Jacob and Bethel. To be honest, I had not thought about it as much because of one basic reason: virtually every songbook that I have known only contains about 3 verses, and, sadly, that tends to gut the story. You lose the context. But when you sing all the verses, it falls into place and brings extra meaning to the hymn. To me, in all my years, this was one of the most powerful after-sermon songs I’ve ever had the pleasure to participate in.<\/p>\n
Below are the verses that tell the story. The hymn book, Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs does contain all the verses, and this is one song in which all the verses matter to the story being told. I encourage you to read it, sing it, and let the story affect you. In doing so, we can, indeed, draw nearer to God.<\/p>\n
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
\nE’en though it be a cross that raiseth me;
\nStill all my song shall be nearer, my God, to Thee,
\nNearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!\nChorus: Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!<\/p>\nThough like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
\nDarkness be over me, my rest a stone;
\nYet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God, to Thee,
\nNearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!\nThere let the way appear steps unto heav’n;
\nAll that Thou sendest me in mercy giv’n;
\nAngels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee,
\nNearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!\nThen with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
\nOut of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;
\nSo by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee,
\nNearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!\nOr if on joyful wing, cleaving the sky,
\nSun, moon, and stars forgot, upwards I fly,
\nStill all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee,
\nNearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!\nThere in my Father’s home, safe and at rest,
\nThere in my Saviour’s love, perfectly blest;
\nAge after age to be, nearer my God to Thee,
\nNearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!\n[hymn by Sarah Flowers Adams (1840), sixth verse by Edward Bickersteth (1876)]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Doy Moyer Songs are magnificent. There is a reason God wants us to teach by singing, and I was reminded of this powerfully one night recently after I preached a lesson in a meeting. My lesson was called “Come to Bethel,” and I discussed Genesis 28, Jacob’s leaving the land, the sun going down…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[182,188],"class_list":["post-63039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-suffering","tag-trials"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94166,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gods-call-to-bethel\/","url_meta":{"origin":63039,"position":0},"title":"God’s Call to Bethel","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 22, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores In Genesis 35:1, God tells Jacob, \"Go up to Bethel and settle there .. build an altar.\" This is a reminder that worship is not optional for God's people; it's foundational. Bethel was the place where Jacob first encountered God. Now God calls him back to renew\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83613,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-the-patriarchs-know-god-by-the-name-of-yhwh\/","url_meta":{"origin":63039,"position":1},"title":"Did the patriarchs know God by the name of YHWH?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Did the patriarchs know the proper name of God as \"YHWH\"? Or did He reveal Himself only to Moses and the Israelites? Answer: The name YHWH first appears in Genesis 2:4, so the name YHWH has been known since creation. Abram called on the name of the LORD (YHWH).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93721,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-why-gods-judgment-through-the-bears-was-righteous\/","url_meta":{"origin":63039,"position":2},"title":"Notes on Why God\u2019s Judgment Through the Bears Was Righteous","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Bento (based on an AI-generated list) The \"children\" were not little kids The Hebrew word \u05e0\u05b0\u05e2\u05b8\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd (na'arim) can refer to: young men, servants, military trainees, adolescents, or adults (e.g., Joseph at 17 is called a na'ar). The same word describes Ishmael as a teenager, David as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4675,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-were-the-evils-of-king-ahab-and-his-wife-jezebel\/","url_meta":{"origin":63039,"position":3},"title":"What were the evils of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 9, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What were the evils of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel? What steps did God take to deal with them? Answer: Sounds to me like someone is looking for a shortcut to getting his Bible lesson done. A summary is given in\u00a0I Kings 16:30-34. \"Now Ahab the son of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20005,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/looking-for-god-in-all-the-wrong-places\/","url_meta":{"origin":63039,"position":4},"title":"Looking for God in All the Wrong Places","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Amos 5:4-9 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God wants us to seek Him \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is not that God is hiding or \u201cplaying hard to get.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God is not found unless we are looking. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Example: the child who cannot find his shoes. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He has looked \u201ceverywhere,\u201d but he is standing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14547,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-beth-mean-in-various-town-names\/","url_meta":{"origin":63039,"position":5},"title":"What does “beth” mean in various town names?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 28, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question that came up in my most recent studies with maps. My study sent me to look at the maps in the back of my Bible, and I found something quite interesting. There are some towns with names that begin with 'Beth', such as Bethlehem. My\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63039\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}