When I first heard this hymn during college chapel services, I loved it not just for its words by Wilbur Chapman but for its tune by Rowland Pritchard. The melody to “Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners” is called “Hyfrydol,” the Welsh word for “cheerful.” Remarkably, Prichard composed this piece as a teenager and never became a professional musician. He spent most of his life as a loom tender’s assistant in a flannel manufacturing plant in the north of Wales. But his greatest weaving was the tapestry of notes he composed before he was twenty. We also use “Hyfrydol” as the tune for the Christmas carol “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus,” and for several other hymns as well. It’s one of Christianity’s most cheerful melodies.
Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.
Jesus! what a strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him.
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my Strength, my victory wins.
Jesus! what a Guide and Keeper!
While the tempest still is high,
Storms about me, night o’ertakes me,
He, my Pilot, hears my cry.
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.
Matthew 14:27

Morgan, R. J. (2013). Devotions for lent (ebook shorts): meditations based on best-loved hymns. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell.