What A Friend We Have In Jesus

Was it an accident? Was it murder? Was it suicide?

Joseph M. Scriven’s body was found in Rice Lake, Ontario in August 1886 after wrestling with depression. The author of the beloved hymn “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” had fallen ill and was staying with a friend during his recovery. Scriven’s friend checked his room on a particularly hot night and was dismayed to find the room empty. The physical pain of years of illness combined with emotional anguish that Joseph had experienced throughout his life led many to believe that he had taken his own life that night in the water, but there is not conclusive evidence for this theory.

Scriven was no stranger to the trials of bad health, grief and other kinds of distress in his life. His fiancee tragically drowned in 1843, the night before they were supposed to be married. He was also heavily burdened by the illness of his own mother, writing a poem for her called, “Pray Without Ceasing” in 1855, which he never intended for the public to see. Joseph had a collection of published poems, but “Pray Without Ceasing” was not one of them. In 1859, Joseph fell in love and became engaged again. Prior to the wedding his new fiancee was baptized in April 1860 in the frigid early spring waters of Rice Lake. She became chilled and developed pneumonia, and in a another tragic twist in Joseph’s life, she died.

Scriven had reduced himself to extreme poverty after giving away most of his money and possessions. He became completely devoted to the help the poor and destitute and tried to live as closely as he could to the principles of Jesus’s teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.

Despite not being published, Scriven’s poem “Pray Without Ceasing” eventually made it into the musical hands of Charles C. Converse who was profoundly affected by its encouraging content. The song was renamed to “What A Friend We Have in Jesus” and became a favorite hymn to millions of Christians.

The cause of Scriven’s death remains uncertain. What is certain though is that he was a real human being, and as such, suffered from what human beings suffer from. Sometimes that is despair and discouragement… weighty burdens that wear us down with the potential to crush us into pieces. Joseph Scriven’s life… and death… starkly reminds us that we are weak and broken people in need of encouragement, healing and hope. At the same time, his beautiful song wonderfully reminds us that we have a close Friend who knows our weakness and bears our pain.