Jacob's ladder

We were very sad to see the statistics of the COVID infections in the UK. Our sympathies are with all those affected by this enormous tragedy. We pray to the Good Lord to deliver you from this pandemic early. I am reminded of a verse in the hymn we sang at school and later popularized by the film ‘The Titanic’.

Though, like a wanderer,

  The sun gone down,

Darkness comes over me,

  My rest a stone;

Yet in my dreams I’d be

Nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer, my God, to Thee,

  Nearer to Thee.

The Story Behind ‘Nearer My God To Thee’

Sarah Flower was born February 22, 1805 in Essex, England, the second daughter of Bejamin and Eliza Flowers. Sarah grew up in a home surrounded by poetry and song writing. Sarah married William Bridges Adams and moved to London where she attended the independent church of William Johnson Fox. She contributed thirteen hymns to his Hymns and Anthems, one of them being "Nearer, My God to Thee". Sarah wrote the hymn in a week and her sister Eliza composed the tune.

Today, the hymn is usually song to the tune "Bethany" by Lowell Mason.

This hymn was written to follow the pastor’s sermon on Genesis 28:11-19, known as the story of Jacob's ladder, or Jacob's dream.  Referring to Jacob’s rest in the desert, feeling lonely, where he used a stone as his pillow. The patriarch Jacob was at the end of his tether. He saw while thus sleeping abandoned, in the desert, in his dream a golden ladder going up to heaven and angels climbing up and down the ladder - ‘Jacob’s ladder’. Awaking from his dream-sleep, Jacob was comforted by God’s presence. He raised a tower of stones at the place, recognizing it as a sacred place and named it ‘Bethel’. I hope this story and verse, lift up your spirits, in the midst of the COVID pandemic.

                We also thought we were out of the woods, but recent detentions have blunted our joy.

Please click on the web-links below to hear renditions of the hymn: -

1. https://youtu.be/rwLl5nY5WPI?t=19

2. https://youtu.be/v1mQT1u_45I

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Geri Jayasekara

Fri, May 1, 7:49 PM (2 days ago)

to me

Hi, Philip,

I have a comment for your excellent article in the Batch Blog:

This "ladder," indicated that there is communication between earth and heaven. God's angels ascending and descending on was to indicate that angels minister and establish communications  in some important way between God and humans who have his approval.— ( as in John 1:51: He (Jesus) then said to him: (Nathaniel) “Most truly I say to you men, you will see heaven opened up and the angels of God ascending and descending to the Son of man.”)

Regards. 

Geri.

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Email reply from Fredo Benjamin

From: FREDERICK BENJAMIN <fabenja@bigpond.com>
Date: Fri, 1 May 2020, 14:58
Subject: Re: Jacob's ladder
To: Philip Veersingam <philipv203@gmail.com>

Thank you Philip for the story concerning that beautiful hymn . It is a hymn with deep meaning and I just love it . I remember being told the story of titanic when I was a school boy in early 50s . About 10 years later When I was at Uni the movie “A night to remember” was shown in Ceylon. Some of us from the SCM and also from College House watched it . It was the story of the ill fated ship and near the end the band played the other tune as the people in peril sang the hymn and went down. About 10-20 years ago the movie “Titanic” was released . We saw it and it was very moving. We have a video of that movie.

Many families have their anecdotes told by parents to the children. Our extended family too had one relating to the Titanic. My grand aunt  who had a close walk with The Lord was seriously ill in Jaffna and was dying. Her siblings were around her. Suddenly she opened her eyes and with a peaceful smile she said she was in the company of hundreds of Europeans approaching Heaven and singing Nearer my God to thee. She was the only coloured person in that march and she too uttered a line or two of the hymn and stopped. She died soon after that. One of her relatives had a radio. In that era very few people in Jaffna had radios. The next morning he heard the news of the Titanic on the radio. When  they checked the details, they knew she died at  the same time when the ship was sinking. Her grand daughter was younger than me  and we have talked about this story years ago. The story is a testimony of that grand aunt’s faith and it is comfort and hope for us as children of a loving God.

Hope you and family are keeping well . We have not got out except for very essential matters due to the restrictions. We are able to manage and spend time at home reading cooking , bit of gardening and playing music. We follow church services on line and talk to the relatives via zoom.

May God be with you and protect you all from the virus  with a firewall . His promises are firm

Freddo
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 My reply

A common saying among the Sinhalese  goes  as - 'Naeva gillaath ban chune'.

It meant that even when the ship was sinking, the band was playing.

This  can refer to devotion to duty or  as a derogatory remark implying that everyone was singing while the ship was sinking.

This referred to  the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and how the band played as a last piece  the melody  of the song, 'Nearer my GOD to Thee'