Comment on a Hymn

Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners!

This is a great hymn to sing. And that's because it reminds us who Jesus is, and especially who He is to us. The first line captures it. He is a friend of sinners. Now, that's all very nice if we think of it as applying to them over there. But how stunning when we understand that this means that He is a lover of my soul. I am the sinner that He is a friend to. He should be anything but a friend to someone like me. But that's not the case. He is my friend. And as such He is someone who will never fail me. The rest of the hymn fills out what He does for me as my friend and gives us good reason to sing - with gusto - that refrain.

Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!

Jesus! Lover of my soul;

Friends may fail me, foes assail me,

He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Refrain

Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Hallelujah! what a friend!

Saving, helping, keeping, loving,

He is with me to the end.

Jesus! what a strength in weakness!

Let me hide myself in Him.

Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,

He, my strength, my victory wins.

Refrain

Jesus! what a help in sorrow!

While the billows over me roll,

Even when my heart is breaking,

He, my comfort, helps my soul.

Refrain

Jesus! what a guide and keeper!

While the tempest still is high,

Storms about me, night overtakes me,

He, my pilot, hears my cry.

Refrain

Jesus! I do now receive Him,

More than all in Him I find.

He hath granted me forgiveness,

I am His, and He is mine.

Refrain