It Was Jesus Who Set Me Free

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When I was treading the pathway of wrong

Author: Haldor Lillenas
Tune: [When I was treading the pathway of wrong]
Published in 4 hymnals

Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 When I was treading the pathway of wrong,
When I was bound by the fetters so strong,
When I had lost all my sunshine and song,
It was Jesus who set me free.

Refrain:
It was Jesus who set me free,
It was Jesus who set me free;
Now every chain has been broken in twain,
It was Jesus who set me free.

2 When for my soul there was no one to care,
When condemnation seemed mine everywhere,
When I was bound by the chains of despair,
It was Jesus who set me free. [Refrain]

3 When on my pathway no light seemed to shine,
When I was dreading the judgment divine,
When evil powers seemed all to combine,
It was Jesus who set me free. [Refrain]

4 When I am singing His glory and praise,
Marvelous, wonderful, infinite grace,
That He should suffer and die in my place—
It was Jesus who set me free. [Refrain]

The Gospel in Song, 1926 (Timeless Truths)

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Author: Haldor Lillenas

Rv Haldor Lillenas DMus Norway/USA 1885-1959. Born at Stord, near Bergen, Norway, his father sold their 15 acre farm in Norway and emigrated to the U.S., buying a farm in Colton, SD. After he built a sod house, the family (wife and three chldren) also came to SD in 1887. They moved to Astoria, Oregon in 1889, where Lillenas learned English and began writing song lyrics at an early age. In 1900 the family moved again to Roseville, MN, where he worked as a farm laborer and began attending a Lutheran high school at Hawick, MN. He sold a few songs at age 19. At age 21 he began writing more songs, encouraged by some earlier ones becoming popular (“He set me free” was one). His mother died in 1906 and his father returned to ND, but Li… Go to person page >

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First Line:	When I was treading the pathway of wrong
Title:	It Was Jesus Who Set Me Free
Author:	Haldor Lillenas
Meter:	10.10.10.8.8.8.10.8
Language:	English
Refrain First Line:	It was Jesus who set me free
Publication Date:	1915
Copyright:	Public Domain