A monthly feature on a hymn of the faith
For some reason, this hymn seems programmed into my heart.
Whenever I settle into my favorite rocker for “time with God,” my heart sings
the opening lines to a hymn written way back in 1910.Its official title is “Our Great Savior” but I know it better
by its opening lines:
Jesus, what a friend for sinners! Jesus, lover of my soul.
It wasn't always the first hymn to come to mind, but over the
past decade-plus, I was challenged spiritually by a situation similar to that
of the next lines:
Friends may fail me, foes assail me, He, my Savior makes
me whole.
My friends remained steadfast, but I did go through
challenges with negative people. And in those situations I experienced new ways
that my Savior was “saving, helping, keeping, and loving” me.
But what type of man would write such a hymn? Answer: a
Presbyterian pastor-turned-worldwide-evangelist-turned-denominational leader.
One acquainted with grief, who outlived two wives (a third survived him). One
who packed a lot into his 59 years of life.
Born in Richmond, Indiana, in 1859, J. Wilbur Chapman made a
public profession of faith at age 17. Later, studying for the ministry near
Chicago, he attended a D.L. Moody crusade. After Moody preached, Chapman had
doubts about his salvation. In the inquiry room, Moody met personally with him,
using John 5:24* to give him assurance. Moody would become a lifelong friend of
Chapman. Later ordained, Chapman served several Presbyterian and Reformed
churches. Among them was Philadelphia's Bethany Presbyterian, which boasted the
largest Sunday school in the world.
When only 34, Chapman began evangelistic ministry, partnering
with D.L. Moody at the World's Fair and preaching at other meetings by himself.
Soon he branched off on his own to preach worldwide for crusades that took him to Canada, Hawaii,
Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Japan, Tasmania and the
Philippine Islands.
During the “crusade” era of his life, he worked with a variety
of evangelical leaders. One was a former baseball player whom he sent out as
an “advance man” for crusade
arrangements. That man would later launch out on his own as an evangelist with
a theatrical preaching style. His name: Billy Sunday.
Chapman would also direct the Winona Lake Bible conference
and set up conferences at Stonybrooke, Long Island, and Montreat, N.C., before
taking on roles for the general assembly of the Presbyterian church. In May 1918, he took on the stressful job of
moderator of the Presbyterian general assembly. He would live only until
Christmas that year, dying at age 59 of complications two days after emergency
gallstone surgery.
Besides a legacy of souls and soul-winners, he left behind
fifteen hymns. The best known are “Jesus, What a Friend of Sinners” (also known
as “Our Great Savior”), which would be included in seventy hymnals, and
“Glorious Day” (also known as “One Day”), in more than 150 hymnals.
*John 5:24 (KJV): “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
hearest my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and
shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
This You-Tube provides beautiful scenery and congregational
singing of one of Chapman's hymns:
Jesus! What A
Friend for Sinners! - Bing video
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