Lyrics
Verse 1
Jesus! What a friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.
Chorus
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Hallelujah! What a friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.
Verse 2
Jesus! What a strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him.
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my strength, my victory wins.
Chorus (Repeat)
Verse 3
Jesus! I do now receive Him,
More than all in Him I find.
He hath granted me forgiveness,
I am His, and He is mine.
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
"Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners" opens with an exclamation rather than a statement, naming Jesus directly as friend and lover of the soul before admitting that human friendship can fail where this one does not. That contrast, unreliable friends against a steady Savior, frames the entire hymn around dependable relationship rather than abstract doctrine.
Its chorus repeats a title borrowed from testimony, Hallelujah, what a Savior, listing four continuous actions, saving, helping, keeping, loving, as evidence of presence sustained to the very end. A second verse extends that same confidence into personal weakness, naming temptation and occasional failure while still crediting ultimate victory to Christ's strength rather than personal effort.
Rooted in nineteenth-century gospel hymn tradition, the hymn functions as a personal testimony of friendship with Christ amid human frailty, its closing verse moving from description to decision, naming forgiveness received and mutual belonging as the hymn's final, settled resolution.
Related Scripture
- John 15:13-15 Describes Jesus calling his followers friends, directly echoed in the hymn's opening declaration.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 Describes strength made perfect in weakness, echoed in the hymn's description of Christ as strength in weakness.