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What A Friend We Have in Jesus
What a Friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge,
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you;
you will find a solace there.
Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised
Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to
Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there
will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship
will be our sweet portion there.
Words: Joseph Scriven (1857)
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Someone has well penned this statement, "A Christian's practical theology is
often his hymnology." Many of us could attest to this truth as we recall some
deeply moving experience - perhaps the loss of a dear loved one-and a simple
hymn which has been used by the Holy Spirit to minister to our spiritual need.
Such a hymn is "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." Though it is not considered to
be an example of great literary writing, its simply stated truths have brought
solace and comfort to countless numbers of God's people since it was first
written in 1857. So relevant to the basic spiritual needs of people are these
words that many missionaries state that it is one of the first hymns taught to
new converts. The very simplicity of the text and music has been its appeal and
strength.
Joseph Scriven was born in 1819 of prosperous parents in Dublin, Ireland. He was
a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. At the age of twenty-five he decided to
leave his native country and migrate to Canada. His reasons for leaving his
family and country seem to be two-fold: the religious influence of the Plymouth
Brethren upon his life estranging him from his family and the accidental
drowning of his fiancee the night before their scheduled wedding.
From that time Scriven developed a totally different pattern of life. He took
the Sermon on the Mount literally. It is said that he gave freely of his limited
possessions, even sharing the clothing from his own body, if necessary, and
never once refused to help anyone who needed it. Ira Sankey tells in his
writings of the man who, seeing Scriven in the streets of Port Hope, Ontario,
with his sawbuck and saw, asked, "Who is that man? I want him to work for me."
The answer was, "You cannot get that man; he saws wood only for poor widows and
sick people who cannot pay." Because of this manner of life Scriven was
respected but was considered to be eccentric by those who knew him.
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus" was never intended by Scriven for publication.
Upon learning of his mother's serious illness and unable to be with her in
far-off Dublin, he wrote a letter of comfort enclosing the words of this text.
Some time later when he himself was ill, a friend who came to call on him
chanced to see the poem scribbled on scratch paper near the bed. The friend read
it with keen interest and asked Scriven if he had written the words. Scriven,
with typical modesty, replied, "The Lord and I did it between us." In 1869 a
small collection of his poems was published. It was simply entitled Hymns and
Other Verses.
After the death of Joseph Scriven, also by accidental drowning, the citizens of
Port Hope, Ontario, erected a monument on the Port Hope-Peterborough Highway,
which runs from Lake Ontario, with the text and these words inscribed: Four
miles north, in Pengally's Cemetery, lies the philanthropist and author of this
great masterpiece, written at Port Hope, 1857. The composer of the music,
Charles C. Converse, was a well-educated versatile and successful Christian,
whose talents ranged from law to professional music. Under the pen name of Karl
Reden, he wrote numerous scholarly articles on many subjects. Though he was an
excellent musician and composer with many of his works performed by the leading
American orchestras and choirs of his day, his life is best remembered for this
simple music so well suited to Scriven's text.
Ira D. Sankey discovered the hymn in 1875, just in time to include it in his
well-known collection, Sankey's Gospel Hymns Number One. Later Sankey wrote,
"The last hymn which went into the book became one of the first in favor."
Quoted from "101 Hymn Stories" by Kenneth Osbeck. Kregel Publishers, P.O. Box
2607, Grand Rapids, MI 49501, 1982.
Used by permission - duplication without permission is a violation of U.S.
copyright law.
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