My Jesus I Love Thee is a poem written by William Ralph Featherston in 1864 when he was 16 years old,[1][2] although one source says he could have been just 12 years old.[3] The first two lines of this poem are nearly the same as a hymn written by Caleb J. Taylor, published in 1804; this hymn is used as the basis for the song Imandra by Ananias Davisson in the Supplement to the Kentucky Harmony in 1820, reprinted in Southern Harmony in 1835.[4][5] There are other similarities between Featherston's poem and camp-meeting songs published in the 1820s onward.[6][7][8]
My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine; For Thee all the follies of sin I resign. My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou; If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I love Thee because Thou has first loved me, And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree. I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow; If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I'll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death, And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath; And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow, If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
In mansions of glory and endless delight, I'll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright; I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow; If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
William Ralph Featherston, 1864
"My Jesus, I Love Thee"
Performed by Frederic C. Freemantel. Recorded in Philadelphia, November 8, 1908.
In 1876 Adoniram Gordon added music to Featherston's poem. Featherston died at the age of 27, well before his poem had become a well-known inspirational hymn. The poem is believed to have been his only publicly published work.
Not much is known about Featherston, except that he attended a Methodist church in Montreal, that he was young when he wrote the poem (12 or 16 years old), and that he died at just 27 years of age. One story about how the poem became public is that Featherston mailed it to his aunt in Los Angeles who, upon reading it, quickly sought its publication... It wasn't until several years after Featherston's death that Adoniram Judson Gordon (founder of Gordon College and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) added a melody and published it in his book of hymns, thus forever transforming this poem to a song.
The United Methodist Church's Hymns of the United Methodist Church, a guide to the denomination's hymnal, states that Featherstone was 16 years old when he wrote the text in 1864.[2] Kenneth Osbeck writes of this hymn in his book, 101 More Hymn Stories: "It is difficult to realize that this beloved devotional hymn, which expresses so profoundly a believer's love and gratitude to Christ ... was written by a teenager".[1]
^"Music and words to Imandra at Choral Public Domain Library". Retrieved January 25, 2017.
^"Be Still and Know... Hymns & Faith". AllMusic. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
^"My Jesus I Love Thee". Amazon. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
^"MY JESUS I LOVE THEE (TRACK #9)". Selah. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
^Darlene Zschech (March 5, 2013). "My Jesus, I Love Thee from Darlene Zschech's #RevealingJesus Project". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
Additional Sourcesedit
Reynolds, William Jensen. Hymns of Our Faith. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press, 1964. (p. 291)
Taylor, Gordon Harry. Companion to the Song Book of the Salvation Army. St. Albans, England: The Campfield Press, 1988. (p. 300)
Center for Church Music
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jesus, love, thee, poem, written, william, ralph, featherston, 1864, when, years, although, source, says, could, have, been, just, years, first, lines, this, poem, nearly, same, hymn, written, caleb, taylor, published, 1804, this, hymn, used, basis, song, iman. My Jesus I Love Thee is a poem written by William Ralph Featherston in 1864 when he was 16 years old 1 2 although one source says he could have been just 12 years old 3 The first two lines of this poem are nearly the same as a hymn written by Caleb J Taylor published in 1804 this hymn is used as the basis for the song Imandra by Ananias Davisson in the Supplement to the Kentucky Harmony in 1820 reprinted in Southern Harmony in 1835 4 5 There are other similarities between Featherston s poem and camp meeting songs published in the 1820s onward 6 7 8 My Jesus I Love Theeby William Ralph FeatherstonAdoniram Judson GordonGenreHymnWritten1864Based onJohn 21 15Meter11 11 11 11Melody Gordon by Adoniram Judson GordonMy Jesus I Love Thee My Jesus I love Thee I know Thou art mine For Thee all the follies of sin I resign My gracious Redeemer my Savior art Thou If ever I loved Thee my Jesus tis now I love Thee because Thou has first loved me And purchased my pardon on Calvary s tree I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow If ever I loved Thee my Jesus tis now I ll love Thee in life I will love Thee in death And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow If ever I loved Thee my Jesus tis now In mansions of glory and endless delight I ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright I ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow If ever I loved Thee my Jesus tis now William Ralph Featherston 1864 My Jesus I Love Thee source source Performed by Frederic C Freemantel Recorded in Philadelphia November 8 1908 Problems playing this file See media help In 1876 Adoniram Gordon added music to Featherston s poem Featherston died at the age of 27 well before his poem had become a well known inspirational hymn The poem is believed to have been his only publicly published work Contents 1 Inspiration 2 Notable recordings 3 References 4 Additional SourcesInspiration editAccording to Tim Challies 3 Not much is known about Featherston except that he attended a Methodist church in Montreal that he was young when he wrote the poem 12 or 16 years old and that he died at just 27 years of age One story about how the poem became public is that Featherston mailed it to his aunt in Los Angeles who upon reading it quickly sought its publication It wasn t until several years after Featherston s death that Adoniram Judson Gordon founder of Gordon College and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary added a melody and published it in his book of hymns thus forever transforming this poem to a song The United Methodist Church s Hymns of the United Methodist Church a guide to the denomination s hymnal states that Featherstone was 16 years old when he wrote the text in 1864 2 Kenneth Osbeck writes of this hymn in his book 101 More Hymn Stories It is difficult to realize that this beloved devotional hymn which expresses so profoundly a believer s love and gratitude to Christ was written by a teenager 1 Notable recordings editAmy Grant recorded a version of the song for her 2002 studio album Legacy Hymns and Faith that was later included on her 2015 compilation album Be Still and Know Hymns amp Faith 9 Paul Baloche performed the song in a various artist album Hymns 4 Worship Vol 2 Just As I Am which was released in 2005 10 Selah recorded a three stanza version of the song in their 2009 album You Deliver Me 11 In 2013 Darlene Zschech along with Michael W Smith recorded an extra verse to this on the live worship DVD Revealing Jesus 12 The hymn has also been performed and recorded by Shane amp Shane John MacArthur Kory Welch and instrumental adptation by Sebastian Demrey References edit a b Osbeck Kenneth 1985 101 More Hymn Stories Grand Rapids MI Kregel p 61 ISBN 0 8254 3420 3 a b Sanchez Diana 1989 The Hymns of the United Methodist Hymnal Nashville Tennessee Abingdon Press p 72 ISBN 0 687 43149 2 a b Hymn Stories My Jesus I Love Thee Challies Dot Com Challies com March 10 2013 Retrieved October 17 2013 Steel David Warren and Richard H Hulan 2010 The Makers of the Sacred Harp Urbana Illinois University of Illinois Christian Classics Ethereal Library Southern Harmony Imandra Retrieved January 25 2017 Social and Camp Meeting Songs for the Pious Baltimore MD Armstrong and Plaskitt 1822 216 pp Retrieved January 25 2017 Shaffer s Pilgrim Songster Zanesville Ohio 1848 216 pp Retrieved January 25 2017 Music and words to Imandra at Choral Public Domain Library Retrieved January 25 2017 Be Still and Know Hymns amp Faith AllMusic Retrieved February 12 2016 My Jesus I Love Thee Amazon Retrieved September 7 2016 MY JESUS I LOVE THEE TRACK 9 Selah Retrieved September 7 2016 Darlene Zschech March 5 2013 My Jesus I Love Thee from Darlene Zschech s RevealingJesus Project YouTube Archived from the original on December 15 2021 Retrieved September 7 2016 Additional Sources editReynolds William Jensen Hymns of Our Faith Nashville Tennessee Broadman Press 1964 p 291 Taylor Gordon Harry Companion to the Song Book of the Salvation Army St Albans England The Campfield Press 1988 p 300 Center for Church Music nbsp This Christian music related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title My Jesus I Love Thee amp oldid 1153478807, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
