There's One Above
All Earthly Friends

There's One above all earthly friends,
Whose love all earthly love transcends;
It is my Lord, the Christ Divine—
My Lord, because I know He's mine!

Chorus
I know He's mine, this Friend so dear;
He lives with me, He's ever near;
Ten thousand charms around Him shine—
And, best of all, I know He's mine.

He's mine because He died for me,
He saved my soul, He set me free;
With joy I worship at His shrine,
And cry, "Praise God, I know He's mine."

He's mine because He's in my heart,
And never, never will we part;
Just as the branch is to the vine,
I'm joined to Christ—I know He's mine.

Some day upon the streets of gold
Mine eyes His glory shall behold;
Then, while His arms around me twine,
I'll cry for joy, "I know He's mine!"

These are the words of Johnson Oatman Jr, (1856-1922) an American from New Jersey state, who is accredited with penning about three thousand hymns one of which is the well known hymn 'Count your blessings'. In addition to this he found time to be a local preacher while working full time in his family's mercantile business before working in the insurance sector.

The words seems to vary in a few lines from the original to those the household of faith may in this century be more familiar with.

Here are some scriptures that may have been in the mind of the writer -

Song of Solomon 6:3 (NKJV) I am my beloved's, And my beloved is mine. He feeds his flock among the lilies.

John 15:14-15 (NKJV) You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Song of Solomon 5:10 (NKJV) My beloved is white and ruddy, Chief among ten thousand.

John 15:1-5 (NKJV) "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ….Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

John 17:9-11(NKJV) "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are."

Revelation 21:21 (NKJV) The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

Malachi 3:17 (NKJV) "They shall be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him."

1 John 3:2 (NKJV) Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.