Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

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Jesus loves me, this I know, For the Bible tells me so

Author: Anna Bartlett Warner (1859)
Tune: JESUS LOVES ME (Bradbury)
Published in 613 hymnals

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	Jesus Loves Me

Piano/Organ
	Yes, My Jesus Loves Me (Inspiring Anthem…

Choral
	Yes, My Jesus Loves Me (Inspiring Anthem…

Representative Text

1 Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong;
they are weak, but he is strong.

Refrain:
Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.

2 Jesus loves me he who died
heaven's gate to open wide.
He will wash away my sin,
let his little child come in. [Refrain]

3 Jesus loves me, this I know,
as he loved so long ago,
taking children on his knee,
saying, "Let them come to me." [Refrain]

Psalter Hymnal, 1987

All representative texts • Compare texts ^ top

Author: Anna Bartlett Warner

Warner, Anna, daughter of Henry W. Warner, and sister of Sarah Warner, author of Queechy, and other novels, was born near New York City about 1822. She is the author of the novel, Say and Seal, 1859, and others of a like kind. She also edited Hymns of the Church Militant, 1858; and published Wayfaring Hymns, Original and Translated, 1869. Her original hymns in common use include:— l. Jesus loves me, this I know. The love of Jesus. In Say and Seal. 1859. 2. 0 little child, lie still and sleep. A Mother's Evening Hymn. In Temple Choir. 1867. 3. One more day's work for Jesus. Evening. From Wayfaring Hymns. 1869. 4. The world looks very beautiful. A Child Pilgrim, circa 1860. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] -- John Ju… Go to person page >

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Related Texts

First Line:	Jesus loves me, this I know, For the Bible tells me so
Title:	Jesus Loves Me, This I Know
Author:	Anna Bartlett Warner (1859)
Meter:	7.7.7.7 with refrain
Language:	English
Refrain First Line:	Yes, Jesus loves me
Notes:	Spanish translation: See "Cristo me ama, bien lo sé"; Swahili translations: See "Ananipenda kweli", "Anipenda ni kweli"
Copyright:	Public Domain

Year A, Christmas season, Christmas Eve
Year A, Ordinary Time, Proper 9 (14)
This is recommended for Year A, Ordinary Time, Proper 9 (14) by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #709.
Year A, Ordinary Time, Proper 27 (32)
Year B, Christmas season, Christmas Eve
Year B, Epiphany season, Third Sunday
Year B, Ordinary Time, Proper 20 (25)
This is recommended for Year B, Ordinary Time, Proper 20 (25) by 3 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #188 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #709.
Year B, Ordinary Time, Proper 21 (26)
Year B, Ordinary Time, Proper 22 (27)
This is recommended for Year B, Ordinary Time, Proper 22 (27) by 4 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #188 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #709.

Cherokee

English

10 shown out of 419

English, Armenian, Samoan

The New Century Hymnal #327

French

Moravian Book of Worship #726

German

Hausa

Hymnal: A Worship Book #341

Inuktitut

Moravian Book of Worship #726

Japanese

Korean

Miskitu

Moravian Book of Worship #726

Navajo

Hymnal: A Worship Book #341

Spanish

Swahili

Moravian Book of Worship #726

Yup'ik

Moravian Book of Worship #726

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Notes

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Eph. 5:2, Jer.31:3
st. 2 = Gal. 2:20
st. 3 = Matt. 18:2-4, Matt. 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16, Luke 18:15-17

Anna B. Warner (b. Long Island, NY, 1827; d. Constitution Island, near West Point, NY, 1915) wrote this beloved children's hymn text in 1859. It was published in Say and Seal (1860), a novel Warner wrote in collaboration with her sister Susan, author of another popular children's hymn, “Jesus Bids Us Shine.” In this now-forgotten novel a dying boy, Johnny Fax, is comforted by his church school teacher, who sings to him the four original stanzas of this hymn. Warner and her sister Susan wrote popular novels under the pen names Amy Lothrop and Elizabeth Wetherell. They also taught Bible classes for the cadets at West Point, who were ferried to the Warner home on Constitution Island. After she died, Warner was buried with military honors at West Point in honor of this service. She wrote devotional poetry and compiled two collections: Hymns of the Church Militant (1858) and Wayfaring Hymns, Original and Translated (1869).

Both Anna and Susan Warner's writings are marked by what some judge to be "undistinguished religious sentimentality." But those who are critical of the text's simplicity may do well to remember what the great theologian Karl Barth once said when asked about his most profound theological discovery:

Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so.

The text has been translated into many other languages. [The 1987 Psalter Hymnal] includes the original stanzas 1 and 2 and adds a stanza derived from David R. McGuire's rewriting of the text, which he prepared for the Canadian Anglican and United Hymn Book (1971).

McGuire (b. St. Catherines, ON, Canada, 1929; d. Richmond Hill, ON, Canada, 1971) was educated at University College and Wycliffe College, both at the University of Toronto. Ordained in the Anglican Church, he served four congregations in Ontario including Church of Christ the King in Etobicoke, Toronto (1959-1969). McGuire was strongly interested in hymnody and was on the committee that produced The Hymn Book (1971), published by two Canadian denominations-the Anglican Church and the United Church. He also edited a collection of contemporary folk hymns, Sing 1(1972).
“Jesus loves me” weaves together some of the most basic truths of the childlike Christian's experience with the Lord: Jesus loves me, Jesus saves me, and Jesus invites me to come to him. The refrain simply emphasizes that we know Jesus' love from the Bible.

Liturgical Use:
A fine children's hymn of testimony to Jesus' love but also appropriate for children of God of all ages.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

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Tune

JESUS LOVES ME (Bradbury)

William B. Bradbury (PHH 114) added a refrain line to Warner's stanzas and wrote the tune JESUS LOVES ME in 1861. The hymn was published in Bradbury's church school collection The Golden Shower (1862). The tune is also known as CHINA in some hymnals, presumably because of its popularity among missio…

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All tunes published with 'Jesus Loves Me, This I Know'^ top

For Leaders

Bulletin Blurb
Worship Notes
Scores

It has been said that the three most beautiful words of all are “I love you.” Jesus said “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love” (John 15:9 ESV). In every stanza of this hymn and in the refrain, we repeat with assurance that “Jesus loves me.”

Text:

This is one of the best-known children's hymns ever written. Through all the many stanzas of this hymn, the opening words are always the same: “Jesus loves me.” The themes of this hymn are the assurance of God's love, and a review of what Jesus did for us.

In 1860, Anna Warner and her sister Susan, under the pen names Amy Lothrop and Elizabeth Wetherell, wrote a two-volume novel called Say and Seal. In it, a sick little boy asks his Sunday school teacher to sing. The teacher obliges by singing the four original stanzas of this hymn. The third of those (second line: “Though I'm very weak and ill”) is usually omitted. Though its theme was pertinent to its setting in the novel, it is irrelevant to the normal context for this hymn today. The other three stanzas by Warner, which are the three most popular of all, have the second lines “For the Bible tells me so,” “Heaven's gate to open wide,” and “Close beside me all the way.”

In 1871, David R. McGuire, who was on the revision committee for the United Church of Canada, wrote two additional stanzas for this hymn in The Hymn Book. They have the second lines “As he loved so long ago” and “Walking with me on my way.” Other stanzas have also been written anonymously. The refrain was written by William B. Bradbury when he composed the tune.

Tune:

JESUS LOVES ME was composed by William B. Bradbury for this text and published in his Sunday school song collection, The Golden Shower, in 1862. The tune is also called CHINA in some hymnals because it is reported to be a favorite among missionaries there. The tune is a simple, pentatonic one, and is widely known. It works best with simple accompaniment.

When/Why/How:

This hymn is often used as a children's hymn, but it can also be used by all ages as a hymn of assurance. It also works well in medley with hymns of a similar theme. For example, “Three Sunday School Hymn Settings for Organ” includes JESUS LOVES ME in medley with STORIES OF JESUS. A gospel style choral setting of “Jesus Loves Me” for children and adult choirs includes two other children's songs. This short setting of “Jesus Loves Me” for handbells is lively and upbeat.

Tiffany Shomsky,
Hymnary.org

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Baptist Hymnal 1991 #344

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Page Scans

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Christian Worship: Hymnal (2021), p.575

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Instances

Instances (301 - 400 of 613)

Piano/Organ Yes, My Jesus Loves Me (Inspiring Anthems for Women's Voices) Three Sunday School Hymn Settings for Organ Fourteen (14) American Spirituals and Hymns More Piano/Organ...
Choral Yes, My Jesus Loves Me (Inspiring Anthems for Women's Voices) He Keeps Me Singing (Inspirational Hymn Settings for Solo Voice) JESUS LOVES ME More Choral...
Instrumental Worship the King JESUS LOVES ME with CHILDREN OF THE HEAVENLY FATHER PRAISE GUITAR MADE EASY More Instrumental...
Handbells JESUS LOVES ME JESUS LOVES ME Yes, Jesus Loves Me More Handbells...
PowerPoint JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW (Worship His Majesty 423) JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW (Trinity Hymnal 189) JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW (Gray Psalter 571) More PowerPoint...

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Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

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