1.
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.
2.
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.
3.
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.
4.
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.
What I am troubled by is the imagery in the first verse-and-a-half; the rest of the hymn is awesome, actually. Lifted from the story in the Synoptics of Jesus calming a storm on the Sea of Galilee, it is a crie de ceour not just for the Divine presence, but for Divine relief from the dangers of life, and a faithful understanding that such relief will be granted.
Except, the story in the Gospels doesn't work that way. Yes, Jesus does calm the storm, but first, he scolds the disciples for their lack of faith. It isn't so much that Jesus calms the storm. Rather, the point of the story is the lack of faith of the disciples in the midst of the storm. Things get rough, and they start whining about how they're going to die. Since seminary, I have read this particular story as one not of the magical Jesus making the bad storm go away, but of the presence of Jesus in the midst of the storm being a source of peace and comfort.
So, I ask, does Jesus make all of life's storms go away? I think the evidence is pretty clear he does not. The presence of Jesus, the peace that passes understanding, gives us the courage to continue on in the midst of the storms of life, some of which indeed threaten our lives.
