I Must Have the Saviour With Me
Words: Frances Jane (“Fanny”) Crosby (b. Mar. 24, 1820; d. Feb. 12, 1915)
Music: John Robson Sweney (b. Dec. 31, 1837; d. Apr. 10, 1899)
Note: This gospel song was first published in 1884. The last line of (4) is sometimes written as, “Till I gain the other side [i.e. of the river of death].”
(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)
The song provides a tender confession of weakness and human need, along with an expression of confident faith in the Lord. It is rendered all the more poignant when we remember that Fanny was blind from the time she was six weeks old (due to the mistreatment of an eye ailment).
Though she was amazingly independent, and accomplished many wonderful things, not the least of which is the creation of nearly 9,000 hymns, yet she needed help and guidance to get along in many situations. Without that, she was bound to lose her way, or stumble dangerously.
It was a simple matter for her to draw upon this fact and apply it to her daily walk in a spiritual sense. Think of that as you consider this hymn.
(1) I must have the Saviour with me,
For I dare not walk alone,
I must feel His presence near me,
And His arm around me thrown.
Then my soul shall fear no ill,
Let Him lead me where He will,
I will go without a murmur,
And His footsteps follow still.
Two or three Scripture texts fit this hymn beautifully.
- “We walk by faith, not be sight” (II Cor. 5:7).
- “Without Me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5).
- “Lo, I [Jesus] am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).
Yet, many of us would confess with Fanny that our “faith at best is weak” (C2). With that father in the Gospels, who sought the help of the Lord Jesus for his son, we cry, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” (Mk. 9:24). In the Amplified Bible it’s, “Lord, I believe! [Constantly] help my weakness of faith!”
(2) I must have the Saviour with me,
For my faith, at best, is weak;
He can whisper words of comfort,
That no other voice can speak.
We each face a variety of circumstances. There are life’s bright, sunny days. But there are also life’s storms to deal with. And we need the Lord “through the tempest and the sunshine.” We need His help in dealing with “the battle and the strife” in our lives. Satan still stalks the land, like a roaring lion, seeking to devour the weak and vulnerable (I Pet. 5:8).
(3) I must have the Saviour with me,
In the onward march of life,
Through the tempest and the sunshine,
Through the battle and the strife.
We need the presence of the Lord all the way to the end. When we face “the valley of the shadow of death,” the Bible assures us that He will be with us still, to bear us safely to our heavenly home (Ps. 23:4).
(4) I must have the Saviour with me,
And His eye the way must guide,
Till I reach the vale of Jordan,
Till I cross the rolling tide.
I have mixed feelings about Fanny’s use of the Jordan River to represent death. It’s imagery that is common to a number of our hymns. For example, there is Samuel Stennett’s I Am Bound for the Promised Land.
On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand,
And cast a wishful eye
To Canaan’s fair and happy land,
Where my possessions lie.
With the crossing of the Red Sea, the Israelites were finally delivered from enslavement in Egypt, and the crossing of the Jordan, about forty years later, represented the completion of the picture, as they entered into the Promised Land. But Canaan makes a very poor picture of heaven. There were still battles to fight and foes to conquer in Canaan. That certainly won’t be true of heaven!
The crossing of the Jordan is better used as an image of the abundant Christian life, a life of abundant fruitfulness and spiritual victory (in the present world), as we walk in the Spirit. As long as we understand that it is a very weak and limited picture of death and the eternity beyond, I suppose it’s all right–and we won’t likely be successful in getting hymn lovers to abandon the symbolism.
Questions:
- Are there situations you have faced recently, when the assurance that the Lord is with you always was a special encouragement?
- Is there someone you could encourage today with the words and message of this hymn?
Links:
- 20 November 1850 – Fanny Crosby Converted
- I Must Have The Savior With Me (The Cyber Hymnal)
2 May 2014 @ 3:27 am
Thanks for the encouraging post this morning. I’m about to go into hospital today – so this is very apt!
2 May 2014 @ 7:11 am
A most uplifting website, and encouraging words. Thanks. Just on Jordan and Canaan in a few words. Crossing the Jordan, with eyes on the ark ahead (Christ, the true Ark), and passing through the waters, is indeed our identification with Christ in death and resurrection to new life in Him (Rom 6). Sadly, many Christians never really appropriate this by faith. Canaan is about our heavenly blessings in Christ (Eph 1 and 2) – being “raised up together and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” This is the true abode of the believer, and one day we’ll know the reality. Of course there are battles, as the Israelites had to fight to possess the land. Ours are not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers in heavenly places (Eph 6). These important types find there anti-type in the NT; therefore we know they are true and appropriate. Many blessings.
1 February 2016 @ 7:29 am
Mr. John Robson Sweney, the composer of I Must Have The Savior With Me died 10th April, 1899. Not 1999 as it is highlighted on this blog.
1 February 2016 @ 9:08 am
You have a sharp eye. Thanks very much. God bless.
20 March 2017 @ 8:34 am
I wish to see Auntie Fanny in Heaven. What a blessed woman
20 March 2017 @ 9:01 am
Agreed! I look forward to meeting her there.
23 May 2017 @ 8:45 am
There are many wonderful songs written today, but sometimes when I am perplexed or worried. My heart reaches back to Fanny Crosby’s “I must have the Savior with me, for I dare not walk alone.” It always brings joy and contentment to my soul. Thank God for Fanny. Hope to meet her when I get to Heaven. Rev. Raymond C. Lewis
23 May 2017 @ 9:11 am
I agree completely. I find many of Fanny’s songs a great blessing. They seem to have a devotional warmth that touches the heart in a special way. As I’m driving to the city on some errand, I often find myself singing, Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour, or Saviour, More than Life to Me, or Draw Me Nearer, and so on. Like you, I look forward to meeting her in heaven. She continues to bless the saints through her songs, over a century after her death. God bless.
26 March 2018 @ 3:03 am
Very uplifting website…the bible reference for the first verse of the hymn should be john 15:5 instead of jn 1:5
26 March 2018 @ 8:32 am
Sharp eye! Thank you. It’s been corrected. God bless.