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You bring the Hymnal,  I'll bring the History
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Cleland McAfee was living in Chicago when one day he received word that his two nieces had both died from diphtheria, and within twenty-four hours of each other.  He was a Presbyterian minister, and the only place where he could find solace from his grief was in the verses found in the book of the Psalms.  As he meditated on these verses he also wrote the words and the tune to the hymn, “Near to the Heart of God.”  At the funeral McAfee sang the hymn for the first time.

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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.

There is a place of comfort sweet
Near to the heart of God,
A place where we our Savior meet,
Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release
Near to the heart of God,
A place where all is joy and peace,
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.
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