BE ENCOURAGED (2) STORIES BEHIND THE HYMNS “What A Friend We Have In Jesus”

John 15:13 KJV

[13] Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Every song has a special story behind it just by coming from the heart of the writer. As humans it is difficult not to despair in the face of adversity. However we can draw strength from our Rock and Helper whose grace will always be sufficient. 

Irish born Joseph M. Scriven was 25 years old, in love and to be married to his sweetheart. As he was traveling to meet her on the day before the planned wedding, he came upon a horrible scene—his beautiful fiancée tragically lying under the water in a creek bed after falling off her horse. Heartbroken, Joseph sailed from his homeland to start a new life in Canada. While in Canada working as a teacher, he fell in love again and became engaged to Eliza Roche, a relative of one of his students. Once again, Joseph’s hopes and dreams were shattered when Eliza contracted tuberculosis and died before the wedding could take place. From this sad experience came a deep sense of his dependence upon Christ and of the great truth so powerfully expressed in his lines: What a friend we have in Jesus,

all our sins and griefs to bear! Although one can only imagine the turmoil within this young man, history tells us that his faith in God sustained him. Soon after Eliza’s death Joseph joined the Plymouth Brethren and began preaching for a Baptist church. From that time on Scriven developed a totally different life pattern. He never married, but spent the remainder of his life giving all his time, money and even the clothes off his own back to help the less fortunate and to spread the love and compassion of Jesus wherever he went. He was especially known for carrying a bucksaw and cutting firewood for people in need.

Around the same time that Eliza died, Joseph received word from Ireland that his mother was ill. He could not afford to return to Ireland to be with her, so he wrote a letter of comfort and enclosed the same poem that gave him comfort in time of despair entitled “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

Many years later a friend was sitting with Joseph, as he was very ill. During this visit, the friend was very impressed when he came across Scriven’s poems. As a result of this visit, almost 30 years after his letter of comfort to his mother, Joseph’s poems were published in a book called Hymns and Other Verses. Soon thereafter, noted musician Charles C. Converse (1834-1918) put music to one of those poems: 

“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.

What more is there to say, indeed what a friend we have in Jesus! Let us start the day by carrying everything that burdens our hearts to Him in prayer. May His Peace rule our hearts in Jesus name.

Shalom

Folake Olukoyede