A Song for the Day

Good morning,
I woke up this morning singing this song and so thought I'd share it with you. The tune is not one with which I became familiar with the hymn, but I love the words nonetheless.

Drop below the lyrics included here and read some of the interesting history of the song as well.

Click here: Jesus, Lover of My Soul by Charles Wesley

Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.
All my trust on thee is stayed, all my help from thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of thy wing.

Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is thy name, I am all unrighteousness;
False and full of sin I am; thou art full of truth and grace.

Plenteous grace with thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound, make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art, freely let me take of thee;
Spring thou up within my heart; rise to all eternity.

The sacred hymn "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" never loses its appeal for it speaks to the basic need of every human heart, a personal dependence upon the infinite God. This Christian song, written by Charles Wesley, is found in nearly every published hymnal and has been translated into almost every known language.

Greatness of "Jesus, Lover of My Soul"
Of the 6500 hymns written by Charles Wesley, "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" is generally considered to be his finest. A prominent American preacher, Henry Ward Beecher, acclaimed the hymn's greatness when he wrote: "I would rather have written that hymn of Wesley's than to have the fame of all the kings that ever sat on earth; it is more glorious, it has more power in it."

It is interesting to note that when Charles Wesley first presented it to his brother, John, founder of the Methodist Church, rejected it on account that it was too sentimental. The hymn came into general use only after the author's death. It was first published in 1740 in a collection of 139 hymns known as Hymns and Sacred Poems.