What a Friend
We Have in Jesus

Joseph Medlicott Scriven was born on September 10, 1819, to a prosperous family in Banbridge, County Down, Ireland. He enjoyed an education, social standing, and family connections that placed him among the privileged class of his day. In 1842, at age 23, he graduated from Trinity College, Dublin — one of Ireland’s most prestigious institutions.

At age 23, Joseph had everything: education, a future, and a woman he deeply loved. Then, the night before their wedding in 1843, she accidentally drowned. The grief was devastating. Ireland became unbearable — every familiar place a reminder of what was lost. In 1844, Joseph made a drastic decision: he would leave Ireland and sail to Canada to start over.

Having taken a vow of poverty and given everything away, Joseph had no money to cross the ocean when news came that his mother was seriously ill. Heartbroken and helpless, he did the only thing he could: he wrote her a letter with a poem titled “Pray Without Ceasing.” Two simple verses encouraging her to take everything to God in prayer. He never intended it to be published — it was a private gift from a grieving son.

In Bewdley, Joseph met and fell in love with Eliza Catherine Roche. He encouraged her to be baptized by full immersion in Rice Lake — in April, despite freezing temperatures. Within months she developed pneumonia. Joseph cared for her faithfully for three years. In August 1860, just weeks before their planned wedding, Eliza died. Joseph was 41. For the second time, his bride-to-be was taken from him.

After Eliza’s death, Joseph never tried to marry again. He devoted himself to serving the poorest and most vulnerable. Despite his education and wealthy background, he chose radical simplicity — taking the Sermon on the Mount literally. He walked the streets of Port Hope with a saw, looking for widows or sick people who needed firewood cut, never accepting payment. In 1880, he was even arrested once for preaching too loudly on the streets. Most people condemned the officer for it.

Somehow, a copy of Joseph’s poem made its way to Ira Sankey, the famous singing evangelist. In 1875, Sankey — deeply moved — published it in his “Gospel Hymns” collection, set to music by Charles Crozat Converse. Within years, the hymn was sung worldwide. Congregations had no idea they were singing the private prayer of a man who had lost everything twice and lived in voluntary poverty on the streets of Canada.

By 1886, Joseph was 66 and worn down by decades of hard living, chronic illness, and severe depression. His friend James Sackville heard him say, “I wish the Lord would take me home.” On the night of August 10, running a high fever, Joseph left his room. The next day, his body was found in the water nearby. To this day no one knows — did he wander out delirious with fever and fall, or did he intentionally end his suffering? His death was ruled mysterious. He was buried beside Eliza in the Pengelley family cemetery.