Lord Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine

B317 C405 CB544 E544 G544 K405 R398 Si544 T544
1
Lord Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the pleasures of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou,
If ever I loved Thee, Lord Jesus, ’tis now.
2
I love Thee, because Thou hast 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, Lord Jesus, ’tis now.
3
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, Lord Jesus, ’tis now.
4
In ages eternal of endless delight
I’ll ever adore Thee in glory so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, Lord Jesus, ’tis now.

The author was 16 when he wrote this hymn.

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Aug 1 2023
Ana Lara

Storrs, Connecticut, United States

“Lord Jesus, I Love Thee” is a wonderful expression of love for Jesus that comes out of the author’s experience of the Savior’s love for him. It was written as a devotional poem by William Ralph Featherston, a teenager who had recently given his life to Jesus.

Not much is known about Featherston except that he attended a Methodist church in Montreal, and that he wrote this poem at a young age of 16, and that he died at 27 years of age.

One story about how the poem became public is that Featherston mailed it to his aunt in Los Angeles, who then looked for a way to have it published.

It wasn’t until William’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. The poem declares our union with Christ, our assurance of salvation, the gospel, the joy in His love, and the ability to praise God in all of our circumstances. Eventually, it ended up in a book called, “The London Hymnbook, ”as an anonymous hymn in 1864, giving it a wider audience among the Christian community.

One story is told of an actress who stopped to see a sick girl, hoping to cheer her up. But the girl was a devout Christian, and suggested that the actress seriously consider salvation in Christ. The actress soon became a Christian. She had to tell her father who was also her business manager that she wanted to abandon her career since she could not be an actress and a follower of Christ. Her father, horrified, pleaded with her that such a decision would be the ruin of their entire business. The actress, being that she was the main star of the theater production, began to prepare for her next performance. The evening came, and her father was relieved to see that she had had a change of heart, and therefore would not plunge them into financial ruin. When the curtain raised, she stepped forward to the applause and music of a huge crowd. But instead of saying her beginning lines, she began to sing “Lord Jesus, I Love Thee. ” At the end of the song, her father gave his life to Christ and many others among the crowd, came to salvation through the singing and her testimony.

(Lewis-Els Codington)

Jun 18 2023
Wow

Shoreline, WA, United States

Praise the Lord for purchasing us! We have been bought with a price!

Jun 18 2023
Akintunde Olukunle Kayode

Abeokuta, Ogun, Nigeria

Lord I love you, help me to love you more and more.

Jun 4 2023
Jim Smith

Mansfield, Ohio, United States

This song came to me this morning. It really confirmed my love for Him. I pray for many more days here on earth, but I know I must love him today. The brother that wrote this him died at age 27. They believe he wrote this when he was about 16. Surely the Lord perfected some love in him. We never know how long we will live on this e, we must love him today

May 30 2023
Florence Ifeyinwa Ilaya

Lagos, Nigeria

I woke up this morning my Lord overwhelmed by your love expressed in this Song for me. You loved me to death, who am I? I will ever love you my Jesus. Help me Holy Spirit.

May 19 2023
Cynthia McKee

Lakewood, CA, United States

I love this Hymn! Thank you Lord Jesus for loving me!

Feb 26 2023
Christina Zhou

Gilroy, California, United States

I love thee, Lord Jesus, it is now

Feb 13 2023
Nwachukwu Felicia

Ogba, Lagos, Nigeria

You wore a crown of thorn on your brow to give me the glittering crown, what a wonder. I 💕 you

Dec 2 2022
Evangelist Ekpenyong

Warri, Delta State, Nigeria

God give me Grace to love you more and more. To be in your arms always. I love this song

Oct 18 2022
August Lantveld

Houttuin, Wanica, Suriname

Dear Jesus nothing can separate 🙏🏿 us!!! This eternal love!!!

Hymns, #544 says, "Lord Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine; / For Thee all the pleasures of sin I resign; / My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou, / If ever I loved Thee, Lord Jesus, 'tis now." The typical experience of new believers after they are saved is that they desire to be delivered from their sinful living because of their love for the Lord. A sister may pray, "Lord, thank You for cleansing me with Your precious blood, and thank You that the Holy Spirit has entered into me. From now on I will be more patient with my husband and will no longer lose my temper with him," However, this kind of prayer does not work. After she prays, this sister may still lose her temper and may even become worse. Some believers who have had such an experience may begin to doubt the Lord Jesus, feeling that He is not real, because such prayers and vows do not work.

I wish to give an illustration of this kind of experience. About fifty years ago I lived in Chefoo. At that time not many families in that city had electric lights; instead, most used kerosene lamps. A brother among us who specialized in installing electric lights told me that I needed electric lights and offered to install them for me. However, the evening after he installed the electric lights, I still asked my children to bring matches to light the lamps, because after decades of using kerosene lamps I was not yet accustomed to turning on electric lights. As soon as they heard me asking for matches, they broke out into laughter, saying, "We already have electric lights installed in the house. Why do we need to light the kerosene lamps!" I was reminded then to use the switch, and the lights turned on. Twenty-five years ago when I visited different places in the United States to minister, I often took hospitality in the saints' homes. In some homes the rooms in which I stayed had electric lights, but I was unable to turn them on because the switches were hidden from view.

The salvation that we received at our regeneration may be likened to electric lights. Before we received salvation, it was as if we had no ''electric lights" installed and were still using "kerosene lamps." After we received salvation, the "electric lights" were installed, yet we were still not accustomed to "switching on the lights." Thus, we did not know how to apply the salvation that we had received. The fact that the Lord Jesus was crucified for us may be easy to understand, but the fact that He became the Spirit to dwell in us may be abstract. Some believers may wonder how the great Savior can dwell in man who is small. However, this is the word of the Bible (John 14:17; 1 Cor. 3:16). The Gospel of John records that after the Lord resurrected, He came to the disciples and breathed into them, saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (20:22). This indicates that the Lord be-came the Spirit and that the Spirit is the Lord's breath (1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17). The disciples' receiving the Spirit may be compared to our breathing in air. Whether sitting or standing, we are always breathing, and our breathing refreshes us. After we believed in the Lord, we had not only peace and joy but also the feeling of being refreshed. Although we may not have shouted excitedly, we nevertheless felt inwardly refreshed because the Lord as air entered into us.

As saved ones, we have the Lord's precious blood and the Holy Spirit, both of which are effective. We love the Lord and desire to please Him, but we often unintentionally fail. For instance, when a saint speaks a word contrary to our opinion, we may feel offended and lose our temper. After believing in the Lord, our inner being was refreshed, but today we may no longer feel refreshed, because we may have often failed and lost our temper. Whenever we fail, we need to heed 1 John 1: 9, which says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This refers to the efficacy of Christ's precious blood. His blood not only cleanses us from our sins but also purifies our con-science (Heb. 10:22). Whenever we sin, our conscience becomes un-clean. However, when our conscience is cleansed by the blood, we can have fellowship with God and with our fellow believers (1 John 1:6-7). Moreover, the Holy Spirit within us supplies us continually. If we are willing to remain in the death of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit will be able to apply the effectiveness of His death to us. When we deny ourselves, we afford the Holy Spirit within us an opportunity to supply life to us. When He supplies us, we can bear the unbearable and do the impossible. Although I sometimes feel powerless to speak for the Lord, the Holy Spirit supplies me within so that I am empowered to speak.

Piano Hymns

Details

Experience of Christ
Love for Him
William Ralph Featherstone (1846-1873)
Adoniram Judson Gordon (1836-1895)
F Major
4/4
11.11.11.11.
134432132771

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