Biography
George Matheson was born on March 27, 1842, in Glasgow, Scotland. His father was a merchant, and the family was of a modest but comfortable standing. He had weak eyesight from birth, and by the age of eighteen he was almost totally blind. He was a very bright boy and entered the University of Glasgow at the age of fifteen. He did brilliantly in his studies, winning prizes in many subjects. He studied philosophy and theology, and he graduated with honors. His sisters helped him by reading to him and writing for him. One of them, Jane, learned Greek and Hebrew so that she could read to him in the original languages.
He was engaged to be married when he was a young man, but when he told his fiancee that he was going blind, she broke the engagement. She said that she could not be married to a blind man. He did not marry. The sorrow stayed with him all his life. He often spoke of the sense of loss that he had carried since that time and of his need for a love that did not let go.
He was ordained in the Church of Scotland in 1866 and served as assistant at a church in Glasgow. In 1868 he was called to the parish of Innellan, on the Firth of Clyde, a small seaside town. He served there for eighteen years, and he was known for his gift as a preacher and for his deep learning. He prepared his sermons from memory, and he could quote long passages from the Bible and from the great authors. He was a very careful speaker and held a congregation spellbound. He was also a writer, and he produced a number of books on theology, philosophy and devotion, which won him a wide reputation in Scotland and beyond.
In 1882, on the night of his sister's wedding, he was alone in the manse at Innellan. The sister who had cared for him for so many years was married that day, and he was left to face the future by himself. It was a time of deep sadness. In the course of that evening, he composed the hymn O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go. He later said that it was written in five minutes, and that it came to him as if it were dictated by another. He said that it was the quickest piece of work that he had ever done. It is a hymn about the love of God that holds the believer through suffering. It has been sung in many languages and is among the best loved hymns in the English tongue.
In 1886 he moved to Edinburgh to serve at St. Bernard's Church, where he drew large crowds. He preached before Queen Victoria at Balmoral. He wrote several other works. Among them are Aids to the Study of German Theology and Studies of the Portrait of Christ. His sermons were marked by beautiful language and by a persistent faith in the face of doubt. He was also a man who dealt with questions and loneliness.
He was a man of tender feeling and of great humility. He did not seek fame and was surprised by the success of his hymn. In 1899, he retired from active work because of his health. He spent the last years of his life in North Berwick and in Edinburgh. He died on August 28, 1906, at the age of sixty-four.
His life shows that sorrow can become the soil of a deep faith. A blind man who lost his sweetheart wrote words that comfort the weary and remind them that they are held by a love that does not let go.