A story of the hymn, “My Jesus, I Love Thee,” by William Petersen

Sixteen-year-old William Featherston of Montreal wrote this simple hymn shortly after his conversion in 1862. He died before his twenty-seventh birthday, and this is apparently the only hymn he wrote. 

Young Featherston sent the poem to his aunt in Los Angeles, who then sent it to England, where it appeared in The London Hymnbook in 1864. Back in Boston, Massachusetts, a Baptist minister, A. J. Gordon, was preparing a hymnal for Baptist congregations when he saw “My Jesus, I Love Thee” in the British hymnal. He didn’t like the music the words were set to, and he later wrote that “in a moment of inspiration, a beautiful new air sang itself to me.” The simple tune he wrote perfectly complemented the simple words, and soon the hymn was being sung across America. 

A. J. Gordon had a remarkable ministry in New England. He wrote several books and started a college and seminary. But putting music to this hymn written by a teenage boy may be the accomplishment in A. J. Gordon’s life that has touched the most lives of all. 

Scriptures: Ephesians 2:4-5; 1 Peter 1:8; 1 John 4:9-11, 19 
Themes: Love, Devotion, Commitment 

Lyrics of the Hymn:
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 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, 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.”
By WILLIAM RALPH FEATHERSTON (1846–1873)

Reference for the Hymn:
Petersen, William. The Complete Book of Hymns (pp. 350-351). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.