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Facts:
- Lyricist: William Ralph Featherston
Lyrics Date: 1864
Key: F
Theme: The Christian Life
Love for Christ
- Composer: Adoniram Judson Gordon
Music Date: 1894
Tune: CARITAS
Meter: 11.11.11.11.
Scripture: I John 4:19
Devotional:
Sixteen year old William Featherston of Montreal, Canada wrote this simple but profound hymn in 1862, not long after he was converted to Christ. William wrote no other hymns that we know of and his brief life ended just before his twenty-seventh birthday.
How could such a young man write this thoughtful hymn? The answer begs the question, as young or old, when a person comes to Christ, the Holy Spirit bestows a power that transcends the commonplace.
Young William had be...
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Sixteen year old William Featherston of Montreal, Canada wrote this simple but profound hymn in 1862, not long after he was converted to Christ. William wrote no other hymns that we know of and his brief life ended just before his twenty-seventh birthday.
How could such a young man write this thoughtful hymn? The answer begs the question, as young or old, when a person comes to Christ, the Holy Spirit bestows a power that transcends the commonplace.
Young William had been confronted by his sin and an eternity separated from God. In a life changing moment, he had trusted Jesus to forgive His sin.
William had been transformed into a "new creation", a child of God. Sinfulness had given way to repentance. He experienced the incredible joy of a life purchased by the blood of Jesus. Earlier, Jesus had been just a name, but now Jesus was William’s ‘Redeemer’. So loved by God, William could write these beautiful words expressing his love for Jesus.
Though William lived only ten years after writing this hymn, perhaps, instinctively, he knew that his destiny was "endless delight", that he would sing an unending song of adoration to his Lord:
In mansions of glory and endless delightI’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.’
Do you belong to Jesus? Are you a "new creation"? If so, then with praise and adoration, sing this ‘love song to Jesus’. Let these words express your devotion for Christ’s sacrificial death on ‘Calvary’s tree’.
But if you’re not a child of God, why not ask Jesus, right now, to become your Redeemer? Acknowledge your need of a Savior and tell Jesus that you are coming to Him as a repentant sinner, trusting only Him to save you and cleanse you of your sin. Tell Him that you believe in Him and His Word, and that you want Him to take control of your life, to come into your heart and be your Savior and Redeemer.
Like William Featherstone, it will be the greatest decision you will ever make.
If you asked Jesus to come into your life, please e-mail us at: support@songsandhyms.org. We’ll contact you and help you as to grow in your newfound faith.
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Hymn Story:
Ira D. Sankey reports this story:
A famous actress, walking down the street, passed an open door, through which she saw an invalid girl laying on a couch watching people pass by. Thinking to cheer her up, she went inside. The sick girl was a devout Christian. The actress, impressed with her words, her patience, her submission, her heaven-lit countenance, and the manner in which she lived her religion, was lead to seriously consider the claims of Christianity. She was thoroughly conv...
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Ira D. Sankey reports this story:
A famous actress, walking down the street, passed an open door, through which she saw an invalid girl laying on a couch watching people pass by. Thinking to cheer her up, she went inside. The sick girl was a devout Christian. The actress, impressed with her words, her patience, her submission, her heaven-lit countenance, and the manner in which she lived her religion, was lead to seriously consider the claims of Christianity. She was thoroughly converted and became a true follower of Christ. She told her father, the leader of the theater troupe, of her conversion and her conviction that she could not live a consistent Christian life and still be an actress. Her father was upset, attempting to convince her that their living would be lost and their business ruined if she persisted. Because she loved her father dearly, she consented to fill the published engagement set for a few days from then, of which she was the star. The play was set to go on. That evening came and the father rejoiced that he had won back his daughter and their living was not to be lost. However, as the actress came out on stage to the applause of the large audience, she stepped forward. A light beamed from her beautiful face. To the now-silent audience she repeated:
‘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.’
Through Christ she had conquered. She left with the audience in tears, and retired from the stage, never to appear on it again. But through this, her father was converted. Through their combined evangelistic labors, many were led to Christ.
"My Jesus, I love Thee" was written by a sixteen year old boy, William Ralph Featherston, at the time of his conversion to Jesus Christ. He sent a copy to his aunt who encouraged him to have it published. It appeared anonymously in The London Hymn Book in 1864. The original copy of the hymn, in the author’s handwriting, is still a cherished treasure in the family.