Nils Frykman

Nils Frykman (October 20, 1842 – March 30, 1911) was a Swedish teacher, evangelist and hymnwriter. He came to the United States in 1888 and was a pastor at Evangelical Covenant Churches in Illinois and Minnesota for nearly two decades. Known as "the joyous Christian singer", Frykman wrote over three hundred hymns, many of which are still sung by worshipers in Sweden and the United States.

Sweden Nils Larsson was born October 20, 1842, on a farm near Sunne, Värmland. In 1866 he enrolled at a teacher's college in Karlstad and took the last name of Frykman, which derived from the valley where he was born: Fryksdalen. After graduating in 1868 Frykman worked as a primary schoolteacher at schools in Värmland and Östergötland.

For the next few years he devoted himself to the ministry, spreading the Gospel as an itinerant preacher. During all of this time Frykman was a prolific hymnwriter, publishing his lyrics in the Christian weekly Sanningsvittnet (Witness of the Truth). The first official hymnal of the Covenant Church, it had more than one hundred hymns written by Frykman. His funeral at the Swedish Tabernacle (now First Covenant Church) in Minneapolis was attended by 2,000 mourners. In 1928 a monument was erected near his grave at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. Etched in stone are the opening lines of the hymn that he considered his best:

I have a future all sublime, beyond the realms of space and time, where my Redeemer I shall see, and sorrow nevermore shall be.

Selected hymns by Nils Frykman

A number of Frykman's hymns are available as digital downloads. The 1990 album Frykman på gammalt vis (Frykman in the old style) can be purchased at iTunes.

Fröjdas vart sinne, Julen är inne (Joy bells are ringing) Jag har en vän som älskar mig (I have a friend who loveth me) Jag har i himlen en vän så god (I have in heaven a friend) Min framtidsdag är ljus och lång (I have a future all sublime) Nu är jag nöjd och glader (I sing with joy and gladness) Närmare, Gud, till dig (Nearer, my God, to thee) O sällhet stor (How great the joy the Lord provides) Vem som helst kan bli frälst (Whosoe'er anywhere) Vår store Gud gör stora under (Our mighty God works mighty wonders)