Jesu Motswalle
Lifela tsa Sione, after Joseph Scriven (1855) · Sesotho · Lifela tsa Sione
comforttrust
“Jesu, motswalle ya nkileng melato le makgopo…”
Scriven's English words are long out of copyright, but the Sesotho text differs between hymnal editions and between congregations — Lesotho printings use 'motsoalle', South African ones 'motswalle'. Check the version in your own copy of Lifela tsa Sione and print its hymn number and title rather than words your singers may not recognise.
The story of this hymn
Joseph Scriven wrote 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus' in about 1855, a private poem posted from Canada to comfort his sick mother in Ireland — he had lost his own bride-to-be to drowning, and knew what he was writing about. Sesotho congregations received it through the mission hymnals as 'Jesu, motswalle ya nkileng melato le makgopo', and it has settled in as a standard comfort hymn at Sesotho services.
Where it sits in the service
Usually sung after the tributes or the sermon, when the family most needs steadying — and it is a fixture of the night vigil before the funeral. Congregations know it so well that only the first line is needed. If your gathering is mixed, print the Sesotho title with 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus' beside it, plus the number from your own hymnal.
In the programme, list it in the order of service as “Hymn — Jesu Motswalle” with the leader or choir named beside it, and add the Lifela tsa Sione number your congregation uses.
How it is actually sung
The Sesotho form of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”, and the familiarity of the tune means even a mixed congregation joins in immediately, whichever language they are singing. It suits a vigil particularly, where it will be sung more than once across a long night by different church groups, each taking it at their own pace. No accompaniment needed.
Printing the words
Traditional Sesotho hymnody in general use. The first line is what belongs in the printed order; ask the church about a full text from the hymnal.
This is practical guidance rather than legal advice. Reproduction rights vary by territory, by hymnal edition and by the licence your church holds — the church office is the right place to ask, and they answer this question often.
This is the Sesotho form of What a Friend We Have in Jesus — the two share a tune, so bilingual congregations often sing alternating verses.
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