What A Friend

Joyous Celebration sings “What A Friend,” the hymn better known as “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” which Joseph Scriven wrote in the nineteenth century to comfort his mother. The first verse says what a friend we have in Jesus, who bears all our sins and griefs, and what a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer.

The next verse points out what is lost when prayer is neglected: peace we often forfeit, and needless pain we bear because we do not take it to the Lord in prayer. The third verse speaks to people facing trials, temptations and trouble anywhere, telling them they should never be discouraged and should take it to the Lord. The fourth asks whether we can find a friend so faithful who will share all our sorrows, and answers that Jesus knows our every weakness. The closing lines of this version add a personal note: what a friend I found in Jesus, a friend who cares for me. The South African choir brings warmth and rich harmony to a tune many know from childhood, and the pace lets each line be heard clearly. It works as a song of comfort in hard weeks, in times of loss and in any moment when a person needs a reminder to pray first instead of worrying alone.

Bringing every request to God is Philippians 4:6. A high priest who sympathizes with weakness is Hebrews 4:15-16, and Jesus calling his followers friends is John 15:15.