Nils Risnes wrote 3 songs in Ways of the Lord. As a young man he was drawn to a life in God, he repented from his superficial life and was gripped by the teachings that lead to Godly fear. Nils Risnes was a shepherd, and through his guidance a healthy church could flourish. He was also put through difficult trials by God, but in his song “God is good who unto us has given” (WOTL no. 126) we see that he believed that trials can lead to our salvation:
“God has planned all things for our salvation.O what wisdom deep and manifold!‘Tis to make us whole that God does chasten;Faith thus tried exceeds the worth of gold.”
Lorentz Johan Risnes was an artistic and musical man – quite an original. He made his own violin at 15, and his grandchildren report that it was very festive when Lorentz Risnes played for them. Lorentz Risnes has 7 songs in Ways of the Lord, all of which are rich in content. One of them is the song: “Run in the race, friend; be bold and rejoice!” (WOTL no. 171), which is a song about taking a stand against sin:
“Daydreams and feelings are quite useless here,Where we must fight ‘gainst the pow’rs of the air.Turn from all folly; be flint hard ‘gainst sin,Steadfast, prevailing in prayer.”.