SONG STUDIES: BIBLE STUDIES BASED ON HYMNS AND SONGS

STUDY (8) WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS J                   Charles Converse (Melody)      Joseph Scriven (Lyrics) Joseph Scriven grad­u­at­ed from Trin­i­ty Col­lege, Dublin.   A ft­er his fi­an­cée drowned the night be­fore they were to mar­ry, he moved to Can­a­da in 1846. There he taught in Wood­stock and Brant­ford, On­tar­io, and was a tu­tor for the Pen­gel­ly fam­i­ly near Bewd­ley. It was there he met and be­came en­gaged to Eliza Roche, a rel­a­tive of the Pen­gel­lys. In what seems too amaz­ing to be co­in­ci­dence, Eliza died short­ly before their we d­ding. Following the death of his second fi­an­cée, Scriven joined the Plym­outh Breth­ren, help­ing the aged members of the community.                                           Scriven wrote this hymn in 1855 to comfort his mother, who was across the sea from him in Ireland. It was orig­in­al­ly pub­lished anon­y­mous­ly, and Scriven did not re­ceive full credit for al­most 30 years. Ironically, Scriven himself drowned in

SONG STUDY (7) GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS Thomas O Chisholm This hymn was written in the early twentieth century with words by T.O. Chisholm and music by W.M. Runyan. The major passage of Scripture which the author had in mind is Lamentations 3: 19 - 33, where the writer (Jeremiah?) is working through the anguish of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the loss of all that he held dear.  G reat is Thy faithfulness, O God                                  my Father,                T here is no shadow of turning with  Thee;               Thou changest not, Thy compassions                         they fail not,                 As Thou hast been Thou for ever wilt be.               Great is Thy faithfulness!               Great is Thy faithfulness!               Morning by morning new mercies I see:               All I have needed Thy hand hath provided, -               Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!              Summer and winter,