Hymn of the Week: April 26, 2024
Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me
Text: Edward Hopper, 1871
Music: John E. Gould
Jesus, Savior, pilot me,
Over life's tempestuous sea;
Unknown waves before me roll,
Hiding rocks and treach'rous shoal;
Chart and compass come from Thee -
Jesus, Savior, pilot me!
As a mother stills her child,
Thou canst hush the ocean wild;
Boist'rous waves obey Thy will
When Thou sayest to them, "Be still!"
Wondrous Sov'reign of the sea,
Jesus, Savior, pilot me!
When at last I near the shore,
And the fearful breakers roar
'Twixt me and the peaceful rest -
Then, while leaning on Thy breast,
May I hear Thee say to me,
"Fear not - I will pilot thee!"
“Jesus, Savior, Pilot me”
falls in a long and rich tradition of hymns that draw upon the imagery of the sea to establish the relationship between the believer and Christ. Edward Hopper (1816-1888) was inspired by the accounts of Jesus who stilled the storm found in the synoptic gospels (Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25). Written at the request of George S. Webster, secretary of the Seaman’s Friend Society, the hymn was first published in the Society’s magazine, The Sailor’s Magazine, and Seaman’s Friend in the March 3, 1871 issue. The designation was, “By Rev. Edward Hopper, D.D., Pastor of the Church of the Sea and Land.”
Hopper, a graduate of New York University (1839) and Union Theological Seminary (1842), was well acquainted with the sea, pastoring the Sag Harbor Presbyterian Church on Long Island for eleven years, and then spending the majority of his ministry at the Church of the Sea and Land in New York City. It was in this latter congregation that he became well-known for his ministry to sailors.
Stanza one demonstrates the poet’s knowledge of both the synoptic narratives and the sailor’s life with references to “unknown waves,” “treacherous shoal,” and “chart and compass.” Stanza two begins with a maternal simile, “As a mother stills her child,/ thou can hush the ocean wild.” The poet cites directly from Scripture the words of Jesus, “Be still,” demonstrating that Christ is the “wondrous sovereign of the sea.” Stanza three acknowledges the dangers of sea travel when one approaches the shore. In this case, the shore is the fear of death. The hymn ends with the comforting words of the Savior, “Fear not, I will pilot thee.”
John Edgar Gould (1822-1875), a Bangor, Maine, native who was a composer, publisher, and merchant in New York City, composed the tune. He gave it the name PILOT when it appeared in The Baptist Praise Book (1871). A compiler of gospel song collections in Philadelphia after 1866, he was well acquainted with sea travel himself, dying in Algiers, in northern Africa in 1875.
C. Michael Hawn is University Distinguished Professor of Church Music, at Perkins School of Theology.
This week’s Hymn of the Week is paraphrased from Michael C. Hawn’s Discipleship website. (see below).
Enjoy Mahalia Jackson’s always-stirring rendition of this timeless hymn. While she doesn’t sing all three verses, what she does with the first two will give you pause to reflect on this wonderful text.
