My Jesus, I Love Thee – Hearty Hymns from A to Z

This tender hymn, with lines penned by William Ralph Featherstone (1846-1873), set to a tune by Adoniram Judson Gordon (1836-1895), has touched the hearts of Christian believers for many generations. Although Featherstone is said to have written these beloved lines as a teenager and perhaps a brand-new Christian, growing up in Canada, the verses have often been sung to comfort those near death, those grieving the loss of a loved one, and those contemplating their own mortality in light of eternity’s promise.

Gordon, an American Baptist preacher and hymn composer, may be best remembered as the founder of Gordon College and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts.

This long-time favorite hymn seems particularly appropriate for this Holy Week, as we await Resurrection Sunday.

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.

Listen to Darlene Zschech’s version of “My Jesus, I Love Thee”:

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