Scripture Verse

What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Mark 8:36

Introduction

Words: An­na Ölan­der, 1904 (Om jag ägde allt, men icke Jesus). Com­po­site trans­la­tion from Swed­ish to Eng­lish.

Music: Ölan­der Swed­ish tune (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tune:

If you know where to get a bet­ter pho­to of Ölan­der,

portrait
Anna H. Ölander
1861–1939

Lyrics

If I gained the world, but lost the Sav­ior,
Were my life worth living for a day?
Could my yearning heart find rest and comfort
In the things that soon must pass away?
If I gained the world, but lost the Sav­ior,
Would my gain be worth the lifelong strife?
Are all earthly pleasures worth comparing
For a moment with a Christ-filled life?

Had I wealth and love in fullest measure,
And a name revered both far and near,
Yet no hope beyond, no harbor waiting,
Where my storm-tossed vessel I could steer;
If I gained the world, but lost the Sav­ior,
Who endured the cross and died for me,
Could then all the world afford a refuge,
Whither, in my anguish, I might flee?

O what emptiness!—without the Sav­ior
’Mid the sins and sorrows here below!
And eternity, how dark without Him!
Only night and tears and endless woe!
What, though I might live without the Sav­ior,
When I come to die, how would it be?
O to face the valley’s gloom without Him!
And without Him all eternity!

O the joy of having all in Je­sus!
What a balm the broken heart to heal!
Ne’er a sin so great, but He’ll forgive it,
Nor a sorrow that He does not feel!
If I have but Je­sus, only Je­sus,
Nothing else in all the world beside—
O then everything is mine in Je­sus;
For my needs and more He will provide.