What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Some songs you hear over and over again ministering to your heart each time. What a Friend We Have in Jesus certainly is one of those. Whether it is in a church service, around a bedside, or at a funeral service, it ministers to us with its rich lyrics and heartfelt reminders.

Below you will find the lyrics, read a bit about the theology of the hymn, the story of the author, and be able to hear several renditions of this old, beautiful hymn. Sing along if you like as you remember, What a Friend We Have in Jesus!

What a Friend We Have in Jesus Lyrics

The Theology

In this hymn, you are invited to take everything to God in prayer. Each verse focuses on a different aspect of our wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus hears. He forgives. He takes our burdens on Himself through prayer. Jesus hears in our trials. He helps us when we feel discouraged. He is faithful and will share our sorrows. Jesus knows us, weaknesses and all. In our weakness, He helps bear our burdens, is a refuge, and is with us. What a great reminder – He is with us! He holds us, strengthens us, and encourages us.

Bottom line – how could we respond in any other way than simply, “What a friend we have in Jesus!”

The Author

Joseph M. Scriven, author

Joseph M. Scriven (1819 – 1886), an Irish immigrant to Canada, wrote this text near Port Hope, Ontario, in 1855. Because his life was filled with grief and trials, Scriven often needed the solace of the Lord as described in this famous hymn.

Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, he enrolled in a military college to prepare for an army career. However, poor health forced him to give up that ambition. Soon after came a second blow—his fiancée died in a drowning accident on the eve of their wedding in 1844. Later that year he moved to Ontario, where he taught school in Woodstock and Brantford. His plans for marriage were dashed again when his new bride-to-be died after a short illness in 1855. Following this calamity Scriven seldom had a regular income, and he was forced to live in the homes of others. He also experienced mistrust from neighbors who did not appreciate his eccentricities or his work with the underprivileged. A member of the Plymouth Brethren, he tried to live according to the Sermon on the Mount as literally as possible, giving and sharing all he had and often doing menial tasks for the poor and physically disabled. He suffered from depression and died alone by drowning in Rice Lake in Canada. [2]

One contemporary writer wrote of him: Mr. Sankey, in his My Life and Sacred Songs, 1906, p. 279, says that Scriven was b. in Dublin in 1820, was a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, and went to Canada when he was 25, and died there at Port Hope, on Lake Ontario, in 1886. His hymn:—What a Friend we have in Jesus. [Jesus our Friend] was, according to Mr. Sankey, discovered to be his in the following manner: “A neighbour, sitting up with him in his illness, happened upon a manuscript of ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus.’ Reading it with great delight, and questioning Mr. Scriven about it, he said he had composed it for his mother, to comfort her in a time of special sorrow, not intending any one else should see it.” –John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, New Supplement (1907)

 

Enjoy This Media

Some groups singing the song from YouTube:

Here are the Gaither’s Homecoming Group singing a beautiful version of this song.

Here’s a version from Alan Jackson.

Classic congregational singing of all verses.

 

Here is the earliest published copy of the song from The Jubilee Harp: a choice selection of psalmody, ancient and modern, designed for use in public and social worship, song #403 from 1867 [4]:

 

Here is a more modern version from my childhood hymnbook Favorite Hymns of Praise #517 [6]:

 

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