This hymn by Rev. James G. Small was first published in The Revival Hymnbook, second series (1863), and then included in Small’s Psalms and Sacred Songs (1866), published in Scotland. The tune FRIEND was composed by George C. Stebbins.
I found the following devotional based on this hymn in the book; The One Year Great Songs of Faith. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you.
John 15:13 – 15
Sometimes the buddy-buddy approach to Christianity causes our concept of Gods holiness to be diminished. But when Christ’s friendship is depicted as James Small depicts it here, Christ is exalted. The hymn is full of great theological truths. From our standpoint, we sing, “I’ve found a Friend,” but the truth is “He loved me ere I knew Him,” and “He drew me with the cords of love.” Obviously it is Jesus who initiates this friendship. The final stanza concludes with lines that recall Romans 8:35: “Can anything separate us from Christ’s love?” Small concludes: “I am His forever.” Such a friend is truly worth singing about!
Verse 1
I've found a Friend, Oh such a Friend!He loved me ere I knew Him:He drew me with the cords of love,And thus He bound me to Him.And round my heart still closely twineThose ties which naught can sever;For I am His and He is mine,Forever and forever.
Verse 2
I've found a Friend, Oh such a Friend!He bled, He died to save me;And not alone the gift of life,But His own self He gave me.Naught that I have my own I call,I hold it for the Giver;My heart, my strength, my life, my all,Are His, and His forever!
Verse 3
I've found a Friend, Oh such a Friend!All power to Him is given,To guard me on my onward course,And bring me safe to Heaven.The eternal glories gleam afarTo nerve my faint endeavor;So now to watch, to work, to war,And then to rest forever.
Verse 4
I've found a Friend, Oh such a Friend!So kind and true and tender,So wise a Counselor and Guide,So mighty a Defender!From Him who loves me now so wellWhat power my soul can sever?Shall life or death or earth or hell?No I am His forever.
