I serve a risen Savior

1
I serve a risen Savior
  He's in the world today.
I know that He is living,
  Whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy;
  I hear His voice of cheer;
And just the time I need Him
  He's always near.
  He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
    He lives within my heart.
2
In all the world around me
  I see His loving care,
And though my heart grows weary,
  I never will despair;
I know that He is leading,
  Through all the stormy blast;
The day of His appearing
  Will come at last.
3
Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian,
  Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs
  To Jesus Christ the King!
The Hope of all who seek Him,
  The Help of all who find,
None other is so loving,
  So good and kind.
174
Laura A. Welch

Fredericksburg, TX, United States

Hi John. I just saw your comment after I was looking for the full lyrics to this song. I think I know the answer : I grew up on an Air Force Base in the 60’s and they had a little songbook that had old hymns in it. I still remember several of those songs, so we must have sung them often. This hymn was one that I know I learned there. :-) Laura


John Grisoni

Wyckoff, New Jersey, United States

I heard this uplifting song at the burial service of a soldier at West Point 13 April. I was surprised that so many of those in attendance knew it well because there were many voices of his comrades raised in song.


D. Ashby

Brooklyn, New York, United States

Thought of this song while riding home on the bus yesterday. Was beginning to feel a little burdened, then I got to "And though my heart grows weary, I never will despair;

I know that He is leading". Just the reminder I needed!!! How on time our God is!!!


Racelia Gunderson

Bellingham, Washington, United States

Thought of this hymn this morning while doing my devotions. Sure miss singing these time tested song in church. They are songs brought out in the souls night.


Mary Fisher

Laurel, MD, United States

Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018, I woke up this morning with the chorus of this hymn in my head. When we stayed with my Grandmother in McCoole, MD, back in the 50's, we would attend the tiny non-denominational church on Sundays. They used the Cokesbury hymnal, which has many of the old hymns in it, and this is one we would sing for Easter. I have a copy of it here at home and when I couldn't lay hands on it immediately to look up the verses, my daughter suggested I look up this hymn on the internet. Amazing what memories flood back when a favorite old hymn comes to mind.


Joanna Smathers

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States

The lyrics and music were written by Alfred H. Ackley, 1887-1960. The history of the song and writer can be found at The Dustin Log, by Pam Griffin.


Br. Daniel-Chad Hoffman, Cg

Indianapolis, IN, United States

When my mother was eighty six and dying, some friends from her church visited her. My sister said that after a little while, she heard Mom singing this song and then the others joined in. In a few weeks she had died. It was a holy death in the full hope of the Resurrection. This thought gives me comfort and challenge as I now grow old in Christ.


Vincent Adzahlie-Mensah

Winneba, Ghana

This song is the Christian testimony. Your faith and belief in the Lord, Jesus Christ, is demonstrated by how you sing this song. It is humbling.


Mark Edward

Saint Louis, Missouri, United States

I remember singing this hymn in church when I was just a boy. I can still hear everyone in the sanctuary, including the choir, singing it together. What memories we have from our childhood.

I was reminded of this song listening to a podcast from Michael Horton' s White Horse Inn. It caused me to ponder the history of the Methodists and the Anabaptists in America. These days, as one with Reformed beliefs now, I always feel sentimental over these old hymns, but I recognize they are not all theologically accurate. #Sola5


Kyle D. Floyd

Columbiana, Alabama, United States

This was the song that came to my heart as I prayed to receive Christ one morning 50 yeas ago!!! After pretending to know Him for many years and actually "testifying" to others, I heard a friend share his doubts and realized they were mine as well. I got up that morning to study but God had other ideas! I was led to read the Romans in Scriptures and after asking Jesus into my heart, this is the song that rang out in my heart!!! And the chorus still rings in my heart today!!! Praise the Lord!!! He Lives!!! He Lives!!! Praise the Lord!!!

Throughout the centuries, all the living servants of God have had this resurrected Christ living in them. I can also testify that He lives in me, enabling me to do what I never could do in myself. Hallelujah, the Lord Jesus lives! How do we know He lives? As the hymn says, we know He lives because He lives in us (Hymns, #503). We may be persecuted and opposed, and we may suffer very much. But we have the resurrected Christ in us. The more we are opposed, the more alive and active we become. Nevertheless, our testimony is this: Not I, but the grace of God with us.

Many Bible readers do not have this understanding of the word witness; even our understanding is not this deep. In Galatians 2:20 Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." This is the meaning of being a witness. A witness is a person who has Christ living in him. The chorus of a hymn says, "He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! /...You ask me how I know He lives? / He lives within my heart" (Hymns, #503). His living in us proves that He has resurrected and that He is living.

This is a good hymn, and I appreciate it. The chorus says that we know Christ lives because He walks with us and talks with us. However, this is not as good as saying that we know Christ lives because He lives within our heart. In answer to the question, "How do you know Christ lives?" the chorus of this hymn answers, "He lives within my heart!" We know that the Lord lives not simply because He walks with us and talks with us, but because He lives in us.

How do you know Christ lives? You should answer this question by saying, "I know He lives because He lives in me." Likewise, if we are asked if we have seen the Lord Jesus, we should say, "Yes, I have seen the Lord, for He lives in me. Even while you are asking me this question, He lives in me. Because He lives in me, I see Him. Even now as I am speaking, I can see Him. While I am speaking to you, He is speaking to me. I am simply a transmitter speaking whatever He speaks to me."

The Lord's word, "Because I live, you shall live also," certainly was fully fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. When Peter stood up with the eleven, that was Christ in resurrection. Peter's speaking was also Christ in resurrection. If someone had asked Peter where Christ is, he might have said, "Christ is here. Don't you see me? If you see me, you see Christ because He lives in me."

Piano Hymns