Such a refuge e'er was given

"More secure is no one ever, than the loved ones of the Savior. Not yon star on high abiding, nor the bird in home-nest hiding"--1873 Swedish hymn "More Secure Is No One Ever" by Lina Sandell.

Known as "the Fanny Crosby of Sweden," Lina Sandell (1832-1902), is recognized as "Sweden's most celebrated author of Gospel hymns." Through a life marked with tragedy, including witnessing her father drown and having her only child be stillborn, Sandell wrote 650-plus hymns, the most popular being "Day by Day": 

1. Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
   With a special mercy for each hour;
   All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
   He Whose Name is Counselor and Pow’r.
   The protection of His child and treasure
   Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
   “As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”
   This the pledge to me He made.
2. Help me then in every tribulation
   So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
   That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
   Offered me within Thy holy Word.
   Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
   E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,
   One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
   Till I reach the promised land.
3. 
   
4. According to the book 101 Hymn Stories, "The waves of revival that swept the Scandinavian countries during the latter half of the 19th century were greatly influenced by the wealth of fine hymns which flowed from the pen of Sandell. Although she had written hymns prior to (her) tragic experiences, more songs began to flow out of her broken heart which reflect a simple, child-like trust in Christ and a deep sense of His abiding presence in her life."

An entry to Wikipedia reports, "The daughter of a Lutheran minister, Sandell grew up in the rectory at Fröderyd parish in the Diocese of Växjö in Småland, Sweden. Lina greatly loved and admired her father. Since she was a frail youngster, she generally preferred to be with him in his study rather than with comrades outdoors . . .  At an early age Lina had been stricken with a partial paralysis that confined her to bed much of the time. Though the physicians considered her chance for a complete recovery hopeless, her parents always believed that God would in time make her well again. One Sunday morning, while her parents were in church, Lina began reading the Bible and praying earnestly. When her parents returned, they were amazed to find her dressed and walking freely . . . Lina began to write verses expressing her gratitude and love for God and published her first book of spiritual poetry when she was 16."

"Like many Christians, Lina learned that when pain and tragedy strike, God may use that experience to deepen our faith," says Christianity.com. "At 26, Lina experienced a tragedy which profoundly affected the course of her life. She was with her father, a Lutheran pastor, crossing a Swedish lake. Suddenly the ship lurched, and before her eyes, her father was thrown overboard and drowned. Lina had written hymns before, but now she poured out her broken heart in an endless stream of beautiful songs. Her hymns mightily influenced the revival that swept across Scandanavia after l850.

"The words of Lina's hymns were all the more popular because of the simple, beautiful melodies written for them, especially those of Oscar Ahnfelt who played his guitar and sang her hymns throughout Scandanavia. Lina once said that Ahnfelt sang her songs 'into the hearts of the people.' "

Jenny Lind, the world-famous concert vocalist affectionately known as the "Swedish Nightingale," visited factories and sang Lina's beautiful hymns.

"Though she was internationally famous for her formal concertizing, it is said that Jenny Lind would sit with the common workmen at their crude benches and sing these simply hymns about the Savior she loved," says 101 Hymn Stories. 

In 1867, Sandell married Oscar Berg, a wholesale merchant and future member of the Swedish Parliament. The two lived in Stockholm when their only child was stillborn. Sandell became ill with typhoid fever in 1892 and died ten years later. Her husband died the same year due to complications caused by diabetes.

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Alec Taylor writes in the Evangelical Times, "It was through the Rosenius movement that Lina Sandell became known to her countrymen as a great hymn writer. Rosenius was born on 3 February 1816, the son of a parish pastor in Norrland, Sweden. His godly parents desired that he too enter the Christian ministry.

"He studied for a short time at Upsala University but he became disgusted with the low moral and spiritual standards found among the students. For a time his own faith was severely shaken. During these spiritual struggles, he came into contact with George Scott, a Methodist evangelist in Stockholm.

"In 1842, Scott and Rosenius began the publication of Pietisten, a monthly magazine that was destined to play a crucial part in the spiritual revival in Sweden. Scott was obliged to leave Sweden in the same year because of violent opposition to his movement. Rosenius became his successor, not only as editor of Pietisten, but as an outstanding leader among those who longed for spiritual refreshing.

"Rosenius centred his activity in the Swedish capital, preaching, writing and producing hymns. He travelled throughout Sweden, accompanied by Ahnfelt. Both of them preached and Ahnfelt sang his hymns as well as those of Lina Sandell. They encountered much persecution in their evangelical efforts but the movement rapidly spread. Numerous lay preachers (known as ‘läsare’) sprang up everywhere, holding private meetings in homes and in so-called ‘mission houses’ that were built near parish churches.

"King Karl XV, ruler of the united kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, was petitioned to forbid Ahnfelt’s preaching and singing. The king refused until he had had an opportunity to hear the man known as ‘the spiritual troubadour’. Ahnfelt was commanded to appear at the royal palace. Being much concerned as to what he should sing to the king, he besought Lina Sandell to write a hymn for the occasion. She was equal to the task and within a few days the song was ready. Ahnfelt went to the palace with his guitar and the hymn in his pocket. He sang: 'Who is it that knocketh upon your heart’s door

   In peaceful eve?
Who is it that brings to the wounded and sore
   The balm that can heal and relieve?
Your heart is still restless, it findeth no peace
   In earth’s pleasures;
Your soul is still yearning, it seeketh release
   To rise to the heavenly treasures.'

"The king listened with tears in his eyes. When Ahnfelt had finished, he gripped Ahnfelt by the hand and exclaimed: ‘You may sing as much as you like in both of my kingdoms!’ "

Next to "Day By Day," Lina's most popular hymn was "Children of the Heav'nly Father": 

1. Children of the heav’nly Father
   Safely in His bosom gather;
   Nestling bird nor star in heaven
   Such a refuge e’er was given.
2. God His own doth tend and nourish;
   In His holy courts they flourish;
   From all evil things He spares them;
   In His mighty arms He bears them.
3. Neither life nor death shall ever
   From the Lord His children sever;
   Unto them His grace He showeth,
   And their sorrows all He knoweth.
4. Praise the Lord in joyful numbers:
   Your Protector never slumbers;
   At the will of your Defender
   Every foeman must surrender.
5. Though He giveth or He taketh,
   God His children ne’er forsaketh;
   His the loving purpose solely
   To preserve them pure and holy.
6. Another hymn of Sandell's is "I With Thee Would Begin":
7. I with Thee would begin, O my Savior so dear,
   On the way that I still must pursue;
   I with Thee would begin every day granted here,
   As my earnest resolve I renew
   To be and remain Thine forever.
   I with Thee would begin and go forth in Thy Name,
   Which alone doth salvation bestow;
   Fold me close to Thy breast where found joy all who came,
   There is refuge for me, too, I know,
   Though all in this world is confusion.
   Let Thy Word all divine be my lamp in whose light
   I may constantly keep to Thy way;
   And each day wouldst Thou cleanse me anew, make me white
   In the blood shed for me on that day
   The cross Thou didst suffer, Lord Jesus.
   I with Thee would begin—yea, and hear one more prayer,
   I would close with Thee, too, my brief day,
   And when daylight has failed, let me sleep in Thy care,
   Until waking Thy child Thou dost say,
   “Come, live with Me ever in Heaven.”