What a Friend We Have in Jesus.
This timeless hymn is very well known. Whether you heard it in church growing up or not, it is one of the best-known hymns of all time. According to one study, it ranks nineteenth in popularity among all hymns. While researching this hymn, I stumbled upon a website called hymnary.org, which offered a brief synopsis of the man who wrote it, Joseph M. Scriven. Scriven, an Irish native and Canadian immigrant, wrote this hymn based on his life’s trials.
He had grand ambitions to join the military, but was turned away because of poor health. He also had plans to marry his then fiancée, but she passed shortly before they wed. Sometime thereafter, he met another young woman he planned to marry, but the day before the wedding, she, too, passed away due to illness. Needless to say, Scriven had faced more tragedy in his lifetime than most would face in several lifetimes.
After the tragic passing of his first fiancée, Scriven came to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Some time after all these events had taken place, his mother took ill and was soon to pass also. Scriven wrote this poem for his mother to comfort her in her final moments. Nobody knew of this poem besides the two of them until many years later, when music was added to it. This, now famous, hymn, though not eloquently written as far as song or poetic structure is concerned, repeats a phrase several times throughout.
“Take it to the Lord in Prayer.”
This hymn has slowly become one of my personal favorites and has only increased since learning of its origins. I didn’t hear this hymn a lot in church growing up, like I did others, such as Amazing Grace or How Great Thou Art, but I also didn’t understand the true awe-inspiring beauty of this hymn or the others then either.
Now today, this hymn has helped me understand better the true nature of my Lord Jesus. What a friend? I’ve had plenty of friends in my lifetime, and I have a few now. I’m sure you, the reader, have plenty of friends too. You seem like a catch. What I will say, however, is that your friends have probably hurt you somewhere along the way. Chances are, you have hurt them as well.
I make this point to encourage you to look at your friendships and yourself and compare it to Jesus. [If you are trusting in Christ,] not only did Jesus die for you and for me, but daily we still sin against Him. Yet, His love doesn’t change for us. He has died for your every sin, past, present, and future. He has taken care of the biggest problem you will ever encounter in life. Every other trial or temptation we will ever face in this life can be taken to Jesus because He is the all-wise, all-powerful, all-good Counselor, King, and Friend.
The question, though, is this. How do we get counsel from Jesus?
The Christian life looks like this. We pray to God and bring our pleas to Him, and this is how we communicate with Him. No prayer is too big or too small for God. Oftentimes, when we pray, we withhold certain things that we would pray for because it seems silly to pray for such a thing. Mind you, I do believe there are certain things we should and should not pray for.
God is not a genie in a bottle, but the King of all who cares for and provides for His children according to His will. Regardless, the result of our prayers and supplications to Him, the result will always be for our good and His glory. Remember that.
What a friend. He died for us, cleansed us of our sins, and gives us His Word so that we can know Him better, love Him more, and worship Him rightly. This doesn’t encapsulate the entirety of the Christian life and duty, but it does give us what we need for our communication with God.
Most men who experienced the life Scriven did would have gone the opposite way. Turned to a vice that would have likely killed him. Instead, he leaned on his Friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Christian reader, lean your full weight on your Friend, Jesus. Take it to the Lord in prayer. You might be reading this, and you are fully content. If that is you, then I say to you, “Amen.” Rejoice and give thanks to the Lord for His mighty work in your life.
If you are the Christian reader who is reading this and questioning whether or not God is good or even real, I say to you, “Go to God with your heart in hand.” Christ has suffered, been tempted (yet without sin), mourned over loss, and felt the betrayal of a friend. Not only does He hear you, but He also sympathizes with you, and He will comfort you. You might not feel this comfort today, or even tomorrow, but resting on Him who loves you is the safest place for you to lean your head. God may seem not to be “working” in your life, but He is never deaf to your prayers. Take it to the Lord in prayer.
About the Author
This blog post is authored by a student of Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary.
