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

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.

76
Zet

BC, Canada

One of the most beautiful hymns!! Lord Jesus, we can't wait for you to come back for us Your People!


Eddie

Surrey, BC, Canada

Amen!


Elly

Charlotte, NC, United States

As a new Christian in the 1970s we sang this wonderful hymn in our church.

It’s precious and true.

Only recently I heard it again adapted and re-arranged.

Just glad it’s being sung again.


Nelly Muyinda

Kitwe, Coperbelt, Zambia

I will never be able to thank my Jesus Christ enough for what He did for me not only on the cross, but for election in eternity past, according to Romans 8:28-30. I just want to submit myself to Him completely, worship and serve Him until I die.


Medea

Tbilisi, Georgia

I pray Lord that may every day we declare it boldly "if we ever loved Thee, Lord Jesus 'tis now". very day may our love be stronger and deeper than ever before .. our Beloved Jesus.


Philip Buckland

Busby, NSW, Australia

I heard this for the first time 4 weeks ago and it stuck in my mind. It has never left my mind since and I prayed to God to reveal to me why. It was revealed to me by Jesus Himself when He appeared at God's right hand clapping and singing and telling me that He loved this song. I have tears in my eyes every time I sing it and remembering Jesus love for me.

Thank You Jesus for bringing me from the depths of evil to the light even though I was not worthy of it. If ever I loved You my Jesus, 'tis now.


Bill

Fort Worth, Tarrant, TX, United States

Thank you so much. Memory of this hymn started humming in the back of my brain, and I was eager to look it up to refresh the lyrics to me. What a rich relationship the auther had with Jesus! He had blessed me beyond anything I could have imagined. I love You, Lord Jesus.


Mary

Cypress, Texas, United States

Lately I've felt so weak spiritually that all can do is pray and sing this hymn. I learned as a young child in church though I was not converted until I was 30.

If any feel led to pray for me please do, I need Jesus to renew me and cleanse me from my sins so I can move forward. I've wasted my life I'm afraid and want to be of use to God in the time I have left. 'I need Thee Lord Jesus I know Thou art mine,.... from all of the follies of sin I resign'.


Frank Pytel

Chicago, Illinois, United States

I love this hymn, but as I sing it I feel there are two lines, one in verse two and the other in verse four that just don’t seem right. In verse two our lovely Jesus wore the cursed crown of thorns on His brow, while in verse four, I wear a glittering crown upon my brow. He wore the crown that I deserved, so that I can wear the crown that belongs only to Him! Thank you Beloved Christ for Your love and what You did, “If ever I loved Thee, Lord Jesus, ‘tis now”.


John Storey

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

We sang this in Christ Church, Jerusalem, in Easter week - on the night on which Jesus was betrayed, in the city where Jesus was betrayed. It is decades since I had last heard this hymn in church, but the words gripped me. They are still on my heart "If ever I loved Thee, Lord Jesus, 'tis now." Yes, indeed, our love for Him must be now.

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