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O How I Love Jesus

O How I Love Jesus

Words: Frederick Whitfield (b. Jan. 7, 1829; d. Sept. 13, 1904)
Music: Traditional Melody (source unknown)

Note: Frederick Whitfield wrote these words while a theological student at Trinity College, Dublin. The song was first published in 1855. Though there are nine stanzas to it, hymn books I’ve checked use only four: (1), (2), (4) and (5). The unused closing stanzas are also worth a look. Here they are:

(7) Jesus, the name I love so well,
The name I love to hear:
No saint on earth its worth can tell,
No heart conceive how dear.

(8) This name shall shed its fragrance still
Along this thorny road,
Shall sweetly smooth the rugged hill
That leads me up to God.

(9) And there with all the blood-bought throng,
From sin and sorrow free,
I’ll sing the new eternal song
Of Jesus’ love for me.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

The name “Jesus,” meaning the Lord saves, or the Lord is salvation, was given to Christ by a heavenly decree, before He was born, both to Mary (Lk. 1:31), and to Joseph (Matt. 1:21). It represents both His Person (He is the Saviour), and the prospect of His saving work on the cross. “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10). When His birth was first announced, it was declared, “There is born to you…a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord (Lk. 2:11).

“Jesus” is a name used of Him over 940 times in the New Testament. Several times it is used in the Old Testament too, though hidden from view in our English Bibles. When God the Son speaks, in prophecy, of His Father’s plan for His incarnation, He quotes the Father as saying, “that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth,” and Isaiah prophesies, “all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isa. 49:5-6; 52:10).

In those verses, the word for “salvation” is Ye-shoo-ah, the Hebrew form of the name Jesus. When he takes the infant Jesus in his arms, in the temple, Simeon seems to allude to Isaiah 52:10, saying, “My eyes have seen Your salvation [Your Ye-shoo-ah, Your Jesus]” (Lk. 2:28, 30). He could as well have said, “My arms have held Your salvation,” because He realized that our eternal salvation is bound up in a Person.

Needless to say, because of the importance of this name, and the One it represents, there are many hymns and gospel songs that speak of the name of Jesus. Full information for many can be found on the Cyber Hymnal. Here is a small sampling:

How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds, by John Newton
At the Name of Jesus, by Carolyn Noel
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name, by Edward Perronet
Precious Name (Take the Name of Jesus with You), by Lydia Baxter
The Name of Jesus, by William Martin
There Is No Name So Sweet on Earth, by George Bethune

(1) There is a name I love to hear,
I love to sing its worth;
It sounds like music in my ear,
The sweetest name on earth.

O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
Because He first loved me!

Questions:

  1. What does the name of Jesus mean to you personally?
  2. What is your favourite hymn about the name of Jesus? (And why is it your favourite?)

Links:

Today in 1829 – Frederick Whitfield Born

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English clergyman and hymn writer Frederick Whitfield was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and went on to hold various positions in the Church of England. He published about 30 volumes of prose and verse, and a couple of his songs can be found in some hymnals today. Most familiar to us is O How I Love Jesus.

There is a name I love to hear,
I love to sing its worth;
It sounds like music in my ear,
The sweetest name on earth.

O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
Because He first loved me!

This is rather unsubstantial fare, as far as any depth of teaching is concerned. Its focus on me and my weak love for the Lord so bothered a well-known hymn writer that he created a song with a different perspective to counter it. You can check it out at Today in 1838. But there is another of Whitfield’s hymns, I Saw the Cross of Jesus, that makes a much stronger gospel statement.

I saw the cross of Jesus, when burdened with my sin,
I sought the cross of Jesus, to give me peace within;
I brought my soul to Jesus, He cleansed it in His blood;
And in the cross of Jesus I found my peace with God.

I love the cross of Jesus, it tells me what I am–
A vile and guilty creature, saved only through the Lamb;
No righteousness, nor merit, no beauty I can plead;
Yet in the cross of glory, my title there I read.

Sweet is the cross of Jesus! There let my weary heart
Still rest in peace unshaken, till with Him, ne’er to part;
And then in strains of glory I’ll sing His wondrous power,
Where sin can never enter, and death is known no more.

(2) Today in 1868 – Austin Miles Born

Charles Austin Miles trained to be a pharmacist, but once he began writing gospel songs he abandoned that career to devote his time to sacred music. As well as writing many songs himself, he served as an editor at Hall-Mack Publishers for decades, even after its merger with the Rodeheaver Company.

Among Miles’s contributions to our hymn books are: A New Name in Glory, Dwelling in Beulah Land, If Jesus Goes with Me, and In the Garden, as well as the music for Still Sweeter Every Day, and words and music of the little chorus Wide, Wide as the Ocean.

In the Garden is extremely popular, but it really contains little in the way of biblical truth, being more of a sentimental ballad. Austin Miles wrote it after meditating on the meeting of Mary Magdalene with the risen Christ, as recorded in Jn. 20:11-18.

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice,
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

The book of Revelation pictures the Lord giving to each of the saints in heaven a white stone, with a new name written on it (Rev. 2:17). The stone seems to be what we might call a “new birth” certificate, and a reminder of the saint’s acceptance by God. Perhaps that new name is also the one recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 21:27) which lists all of the redeemed. That thought captivated Charles Austin Miles. He published A New Name in Glory in 1910.

I was once a sinner, but I came
Pardon to receive from my Lord:
This was freely given, and I found
That He always kept His word.

There’s a new name written down in glory,
And it’s mine, O yes, it’s mine!
And the white robed angels sing the story,
“A sinner has come home.”
For there’s a new name written down in glory,
And it’s mine, O yes, it’s mine!
With my sins forgiven I am bound for heaven,
Never more to roam.

Using Hymns with Children

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Using hymns with children prepares them to have a fuller part in adult worship later on. Conversely, to use only children’s songs and choruses in children’s programming may handicap their integration into the adult services of worship. Instead of “Heavenly Sunshine” and other old chestnuts, why not use the first verse of a good hymn as if it were a “chorus” (or perhaps the refrain of a hymn as a chorus, if it can stand alone).

In some cases, you might have to define a word or explain a concept or two. But so much the better. How often have we taken a moment to do that with adults?

You could also tell a story about the author, or tell how the hymn came to be written. That way, what children learn in Sunday School, children’s church, and week-day clubs, will help to prepare them for more meaningful worship with the whole congregation.

In addition to fine children’s hymns such as “Jesus Loves Me,” and “Jesus Loves Even Me,” here are some other hymns that could be used in this way:

  • My Jesus, I Love Thee (explain “follies”)
  • Ye Must Be Born Again
  • Wonderful Words of Life (explain “duty”)
  • O How I Love Jesus
  • Jesus Is the Joy of Living (refrain only)
  • The Light of the World Is Jesus
  • Amazing Grace (explain “wretch”)
  • Trust and Obey
  • What a Friend We Have in Jesus (explain “griefs” and “forfeit”)
  • Praise Him! Praise Him! (by Fanny Crosby)
  • Constantly Abiding (refrain)
  • Blessed Be the Name (explain “majesty supreme”)

With a little study of the hymn book, you will be able to think of many more, and find using hymns with children very profitable.