What A Friend We Have In Jesus

Some of our best-loved hymns were written in times of great sadness. Our story today is a perfect example—the hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

Writers of such hymns found great comfort in the loving arms of Jesus during times of great sorrow and stress. They wanted to share with others how grateful they were that Jesus is the source of comfort, caring, and renewal when we are in our greatest need.

Joseph Scriven wrote this hymn as a poem, but its meaningful lyrics have given comfort to many in their times of great need.

He was born on September 10, 1819, in Ireland.

He was engaged to be married to a lady he’d known and loved for a long time. Tragedy struck the day before the wedding as his fiancée traveled on horseback to meet him.

Joseph was waiting beside the river when he saw her crossing the bridge and fall off her horse—he witnessed her drowning as he stood helplessly watching from the other side.

Joseph plunged into deep sorrow. Yet, this sad experience showed him how much he depended upon the Lord for relief of his sorrow. His grief was so great he left Ireland in 1845 and moved to Port Hope, Canada, leaving behind his mother and friends.

People there highly regarded him for his helpfulness and kindness as they got to know him.

He worked among impoverished widows and sick people and often served for no wages. He even shared his clothes with those less fortunate. He taught school and tutored children, paying for his board by doing various chores, like cutting wood.

During his time teaching, he met Eliza Catherine Roche, who was a relative of one of his students. They fell in love, and once again Joseph was engaged to be married.

Before the wedding, a full immersion baptismal service was performed. Eliza, who was already ill with consumption, developed pneumonia and died four months later, just days before their wedding date. She was buried in the nearby family cemetery.

Again, Joseph was heartbroken; yet, he leaned on his faith in God. He devoted much of his time to prayer and Bible study.

It was through his study of the Sermon on the Mount that he made a vow of poverty. He sold all of his possessions and vowed to devote his life to the handicapped and financially poor. This was a vow he never broke.

He served with the love and compassion of Jesus and preached the Gospel everywhere he went.

Scriven became a familiar sight around Port Hope—a big man with bushy white hair and beard—carrying a sawhorse and saw, offering to cut wood for anyone unable to do so themselves or pay for it. But he didn’t cut wood for hire.

In 1855, he was told his mother was very ill, but he didn’t have the funds to make a trip back to see her. He asked the Lord to give him the words to comfort her.

Along with a letter he wrote to her, he included the story of his life in the three verses that would become the hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

(Note: The original title of the poem was Pray Without Ceasing.)

Years after mailing the poem to his mom, Joseph became ill. When a friend came to visit, he went through some of Joseph’s papers and discovered the poem.

He was very impressed to learn his friend had written the words to this hymn. When asked about it, Scriven replied, “The Lord and I together wrote the song.”

One of his friends sent a copy to a music publisher, and it was set to a tune written by an American lawyer, Charles Crozat Converse.

Twenty years later, in 1875, American evangelist Dwight L. Moody came across the song and said he believed it to be the most touching modern hymn he had ever heard!

Ironically, Joseph Scriven drowned in a Canadian lake in 1886. He was buried next to Eliza Roche.

His obituary read:
“Mr. Scriven had not an enemy in the world, he was truly a good man, and it is to be hoped the sermons he preached on the streets of Port Hope may be like bread cast upon the waters, the fruit of which may be seen for many years.”

Joseph Scriven—who was so deeply experienced with grief but had also great faith—did not live to see his song carried to every corner of the world.

When war loomed in America during World War I and World War II, What a Friend We Have in Jesus became the most often played and sung hymn (along with Amazing Grace) as young men were sent off to war or memorialized after loss in battle.

The hymn is like an anthem of hope during times of trouble, grief, insecurity, and doubt.

Since my Word for 2025 is Prayer, I have selected this as my theme song.