STORY BEHIND THE SONG

There is a place of quiet rest,

Near to the heart of God.

A place where sin cannot molest,

Near to the heart of God.

When Cleland Boyd McAfee returned in the early 1880s to his undergraduate college, Park College in Parkville, Mo., he served for almost 20 years on the faculty and as choir director and pastor of the college church. To be creative, he prepared an original hymn for the choir to use during Holy Communion. The words were usually on the same theme as his sermon and set to appropriate music, and soon the people anticipated their young pastor’s hymns and tunes as much as his sermons.

Born in 1866 in Ashley, Mo., McAfee was one of the five sons of the founder of Park College, John A. McAfee. He graduated from Park College in 1884 and from Union Theological Seminary in New York three years later. McAfee served as professor of philosophy and head of Park College until 1901, when he was called to the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago. In the fall of 1904, McAfee began his duties as pastor of the Lafayette Avenue Church of Brooklyn, New York. He later was professor of systematic theology at McCormick Theological Seminary, from 1912 to 1930.

Known as an excellent theologian and outstanding speaker, McAfee became moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA and di­rect­ed the Pres­by­ter­i­an Board of Foreign Mis­sions from 1930 to 1936 before retiring to Jaffrey, New Hampshire, where he died in 1944.

While serving at the Presbyterian Church in Chicago in 1903, McAfee received the shocking and devastating news that the two young daughters of his brother Howard had died of diphtheria within 24 hours of each other. McAfee was grief stricken at the loss of his two beloved nieces.

He was asked to speak and sing at the funeral, but could think of nothing to say, so he turned to the book of Psalms for comfort and inspiration. As he read and dwelt on the scriptures, the pastor was moved to write a hymn to comfort not only his own soul, but also the hearts of his suffering family. He echoed the feelings of David, who wrote in Psalm 4:8 “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.”

Soon, the words flowed as he wrote in his most famous song, “Near to the Heart of God,”

“O Jesus, blest Redeemer,

Sent from the heart of God,

Hold us who wait before Thee

Near to the heart of God.”

On the day of the double funeral, McAfee sang the song for the first time while choking back tears outside the quarantined house of his brother. The following Sunday, his church choir sang it from their pastor’s handwritten copy. The hymn immediately became popular and ministered comfort and spiritual healing in times of need and sadness. The hymn spread quickly throughout the country. McAfee’s brother Lapsley was responsible for the song reaching the West, as he took the hymn back to his pastorate at the First Presbyterian Church of Berkley, Calif.

Although written in response to the loss of loved ones and often used during funerals, the hymn should not be restricted to times of grief. The words lead to rest and comfort — to the Savior — and give joy and peace to those who hear it.

“There is a place of comfort sweet,

Near to the heart of God,

A place where we our Saviour meet,

Near to the heart of God.”

Although McAfee accomplished many great and wonderful things during his life, he will forever be remembered for a simple message he delivered in the form of a song — a message that when bad things happen, as they will, the best place to be is “Near to the Heart of God.”