Scripture Verse

It is I; be not afraid. Matthew 14:27

Introduction

Words: Frank L. Parsh­ley, 1903. Ap­par­ent­ly adapt­ed from the 1877 ver­sion by Is­ai­ah Balt­zell.

Music: Car­rie E. Roun­se­fell (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a good pho­to of Parsh­ley or Roun­se­fell (head & shoul­ders, at least 200×300 pix­els),

Lyrics

When the storm in its fu­ry on Ga­li­lee fell,
And the bil­lows were roll­ing on high;
A ship that was tossed in the midst of the sea
Both the wind and the waves did de­fy;
The dis­ci­ples were trou­bled and shook with alarm
As their Lord on the wa­ters drew nigh;
But He called out in words both as­sur­ing and sweet,
Saying, Be not afraid, it is I.

Refrain

Be not afraid, it is I, be not afraid, it is I;
Then came words won­drous sweet,
O’er the wa­ters so deep,
Saying, Be not afraid, it is I.

Then Peter said, Lord, if it real­ly be Thou,
Bid me come on the wa­ter to Thee
;
And the Sav­ior made an­swer and said to him, Come,
So he walked like His Lord on the sea;
But as soon as he saw how the strong wind did blow,
Beginning to sink, he did cry,
And Je­sus im­me­di­ate­ly stretched forth His hand,
Saying, Why didst thou doubt? It is I.

Refrain

Then Peter, with Je­sus, the Sav­ior and guide,
To the ship did re­turn with­out harm;
And the wind in its fu­ry at once was made still,
The waves dash­ing high were made calm;
So with faith that ne’er wa­vers, what­e’er may as­sail,
We must trust Him, our Sav­ior on high;
As He still speaks to com­fort, to save and to bless,
Saying, Be not afraid, it is I.

Refrain

illustration
Peter Trying to Walk on Water
François Boucher (1703–1770)