Frederick Whitfield
(1829-1904)
We love because He first loved us.
—1 John 4:19—
There is a name I love to hear,
I love to speak its worth;
It sounds like music in mine ear,
The sweetest name on earth.
Chorus:1
O, how I love Jesus!
O, how I love Jesus!
O, how I love Jesus
Because He first loved me!
It tells me of a Savior’s love
Who died to set me free,
It tells me of His precious blood,
The sinner’s perfect plea.
It tells me of a Father’s smile,
Beaming upon His child;
It cheers me through this “little while,”2
Through desert, waste, and wild.
It tells me what my Father hath
In store for ev’ry day,
And, though I tread a darksome path,
Yields sunshine all the way.
It tells of One whose loving heart
Can feel my deepest woe,
Who in my sorrow bears a part
That none can bear below.
It bids my trembling heart rejoice,
It dries each rising tear,
It tells me, in “a still small voice,”3
To trust and never fear.
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.
This name shall shed its fragrance still
Along this thorny road,
Shall sweetly smooth the rugged hill
That leads me up to God.
And there with all the blood-bought throng,
From sin and sorrow free,
I’ll sing the new eternal song
Of Jesus’ love to me!4
- Although all the verses originated with the author, Rev. Frederick Whitfield, the author of the chorus remains anonymous. ↩
- The “little while” reference comes from John 16:16. ↩
- 1 Kings 19:12 ↩
- The full nine verses of this beloved hymn were discovered in a 400-page collection entitled Gleanings from the Sacred Poets, pp. 351-352, published in 1875. ↩