Christ is my Rock (I Know a Man who Loved to Live Free)

This hymn was written by Medical Mission Sister Miriam Therese Winter, and first published in 1965.

It was included in the album I Know the Secret released by the Medical Mission Sisters and friends in 1967 (ref).

It is inspired by Matthew 7:24-27, which describes house-building approaches (eg "the wise man built his house upon the rock", and parallels them to the spiritual life.

Downloads

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Examples

Original Medical Mission Sisters recording - small group with guitar accompaniment:

Sung unaccompanied by a man in an echo chamber!

Lyrics

The full lyrics cannot be given here, because they are still copyright. For a long time, they were available on the website of Hartford Seminary, where Winter was a long-serving member of staff. That page is no longer available - though you can find it here in the Internet Archive. They are also quoted in this page of hymns from Nigeria - presumably with permission from the Medical Mission Sisters who own the copyright.

The chorus has six lines, and there are four verses, each with four lines. A brief outline is:

Chorus:
Christ is my Rock, my Refuge, my Stronghold,
... the root of my soul’s recreation.

Verses:
1 I know a man who loved to live free.
He pitched his tent by the side of the sea...

2 I know a man who loved to live high.
... castle near up to the sky....

3 I know a man, a cool one to know.
... out of ice and of snow....

4 I know a man who build out of straw ...