I’m so thankful for modern hymnwriters. I’m also thankful for those who can take an old hymn and set it to new melody – or just take the old melody and make it to where you want to sing it today. Usually that means different set of instruments or more emotion in the voice.
This song is fairly new to me, since we’ve been going to our new church here in the ATL area. It was written in the 1600s. That’s old. Well, old compared to most hymns. Most modern churches won’t sing it. But, I love it. This version is my husbands favorite of the song. While I love Fernando’s version with the incredible harmonies. The lyrics are so rich and have so much depth of the gospel in them.
And keeping with the personal pronoun theme, I love how the song ends – speaking of our time in Heaven:
This is my Friend, in Whose sweet praise
I all my days could gladly spend.