Praise The Savior, with Thomas Kelly


One of my all-time favorite hymns, “Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him,” was written by Thomas Kelly, an Irish minister who wrote nearly 800 hymns.  Kelly was a zealous evangelist, a socially gracious man, and a gifted musician and poet.  His best known hymn is “Look, Ye Saints, the Sight is Glorious.”  But “Praise the Savior” is a great hymn that combines worship with consecration in a comforting way.

The words say, “Praise the Savior, ye who know Him! / Who can tell how much we own Him? / Gladly let us render to Him / All we are and have.”

At age 85, Kelly suffered a stroke.  He passed away the following year, on May 14, 1855.  At his deathbed, someone quoted Psalm 23, saying “The Lord is my Shepherd.”  Kelly’s summoned enough strength to respond with his dying words:  “The Lord is my everything.” 

I learned to sing this hymn at college chapel, and I discovered that once learned the words and tune stay easily in one’s mind.  If you don’t know it, you can read all the words and hear the music at www.cyberhymnal.org.