Jesus Loves Me, This I Know
A classic children's hymn, written as part of a novel in a scene with a dying child. The woman who wrote it is deeply respected by the American military.
Welcome to Friday Classic Hymns! Lately I've received a few messages from people saying how much they enjoy this series, and I hope it's been a blessing to you. Today we're going to look at a song that is probably sentimental for all of us. If you've been to Sunday school at some point in your childhood, no doubt you sang this song.
Most people believe that there hasn't been another song that's had such a deep influence on children. I wonder if you can remember singing this as a child. I remember singing this in Sunday school—it's a song that's always stuck with me. Share below in the comments what the song has meant to you and where you remember it from, which church you remember singing it at. That would be lovely to see. Maybe as we go through the words it'll mean something new to you today, so share it in the comments below. I'd love to read your thoughts.
If you haven't already, please subscribe to the channel—I'd appreciate that. Share these videos around; I really hope more people can start watching them. But let's look at the history of this famous song.
The Story Behind "Jesus Loves Me"
You've probably heard of the Warner Brothers who were famous for their cartoons, but years before them were the Warner sisters who wrote this song—or at least one of them wrote the song. Anna and Susan Warner were born in the 1800s in New York and lived most of their lives there by the Hudson River. Their home was near the U.S. military academy, and being devout young Christians, these sisters decided to go and offer the military Sunday services. They would go and bless the people there in the military with their preaching and their music.
Loved and respected were they by the military that when they died, they both received military honours for the spiritual work that they did among the people there. But they didn't have it easy. Their father was a prominent lawyer, but when he died they were left with very little. The sisters decided to begin writing to try and bring in some money.
They both wrote a lot of poems, a lot of hymns, and novels as well. Susan Warner famously wrote a hymn called "Jesus Bids Us Shine," and she wrote a bunch of very popular novels. In fact, one was seen as one of the great novels of its time.
The two sisters wrote a novel together in 1859 called Say and Seal. There's a scene in this book where a little dying boy named Johnny Fax is comforted by one of the characters, Mr Linden. Mr Linden reads him—or says to him—the words of the song. It's the first time that anyone had ever seen them, because Anna Warner had written them: "Jesus loves me! This I know"—the famous song.
Out of this scene in the book, where this little dying boy receives these words of comfort, a hugely popular song came. The song became so well known and so well loved, and before long, around the world, people were singing it. Children especially were singing it.
Three years after the book was published, a famous hymn writer and composer, William Bradbury, decided to put music to this tune. He was a great hymn writer and had written songs like "Just As I Am" and all sorts of other popular ones. He saw this poem, this little verse, and decided, "We can put some music to this." He wrote the tune that we know and love, and surely it's the tune and the words that make it as popular as it is.
It spread around the world. There are stories of missionaries sharing the song with children of all sorts of different languages, and they pick it up and they love it. It seems to speak something of the simplicity of faith to children all around the world.
When the Warner sisters had died, the military took over their home and made it into a museum. Such was their impact on that local branch of the military that they wanted to honour them in that way. Such a simple song has had such a deep effect on so many people. I want to look at her four original verses, which are slightly different to the ones that we sing, and we'll take it from there.
What Do the Lyrics of "Jesus Loves Me" Mean?
Verse 1
The first verse, as we find it in the novel, is the one that we all know:
Jesus loves me! This I know, For the Bible tells me so; Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong.
To picture the scene of a dying child receiving these words—"Jesus loves me! This I know"—what a great sentence for any child to hold on to. How do I know? Well, because the Bible says so, and we believe that the Bible is God's word.
Little ones to Him belong—that's a beautiful line that talks about Jesus' own words. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, for theirs is the kingdom of God." Jesus was never one to shush the children and send them away so that He could do His work. He loved the children and wanted them to be blessed by God.
They are weak but He is strong. Again, this makes a lot of sense in the context of the novel—a small dying child hearing, "Though I am weak, He is strong." What words of comfort!
Verse 2
Verse 2 says this:
Jesus loves me! He who died Heaven's gate to open wide; He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in.
Beautiful verse about salvation. Jesus died to open up the gates of heaven. Isn't that a nice way to describe what He did?
He will wash away my sin, let His little child come in. Of course, Christ is the one who washes away sin and then lets us come on in. Beautiful words.
Verse 3
Then verse 3 says this:
Jesus loves me, loves me still, When I'm very weak and ill; From His shining throne on high, Comes to watch me where I lie.
I don't think I've ever sung that verse before, but again it speaks to the care and compassion of our God when His children are not well, when they're sick. I wonder how many people have taken comfort in this verse, taken hope as they've realised that God is with them.
Maybe you're not well as you watch this. Maybe you're mostly in your bed or in your small flat or whatever. Do you know that He is with you to comfort you? Even if you're ill, He's there to be strong when you're weak.
It says, From His shining throne on high, comes to watch me where I lie. Jesus doesn't sit up on His throne and look down hoping that you'll feel better, but He comes. He comes. He sends His Spirit, and with the Spirit in you, you can feel His comfort and His love and His warmth.
For a dying child in the book, that must have been profound, but for any of us, especially in times of sickness and illness—what words, what words!
Verse 4
Then the fourth verse in the book says this:
Jesus loves me! He will stay Close beside me all the way; Then His little child will take Up to heaven for His dear sake.
Heavy stuff. It's saying when my time has come, He will come and lead me on the way. This reminds me of a funeral I once went to—the funeral of one of my friends' grans. The minister said to the grandchildren, "You remember when you were small, how Grandma used to come and take your hand and lead you to the shop or wherever you were going, walk with you holding your hand?"
He said, "Picture Jesus coming to Grandma in those last moments and taking her hand and leading her home."
That was so profound for me. I remember that very clearly. That's what this verse is picturing—Jesus coming to lead us home when the time is right.
Do you know that if you're in Christ, He's going to come and take your hand and lead you home to the place He's prepared for you at just the right moment?
Jesus loves you, and you can know it because it is true. It comes from the Word. He loves you so much that He'll come and take you and care for you in your new home when the time comes.
Maybe this can be comfort for us today as we think of our loved ones we've lost. Jesus loved them, and if they were in Him, oh what peace and what joy they are experiencing now! Isn't this a beautiful hymn?
The one I recorded a few years ago had some different words. As you hear the different words, see how they are saying the same thing as the others, just in a different way. May they lead you to trust more deeply—in fact, trust simply like a child in the God who loves you and will come and prepare a place for you. He's close beside you now, and He always will be. Sing these words with me and may they just fill your heart today.
Conclusion
Jesus loves you. This simple truth, expressed so perfectly in this beloved hymn, has comforted generations of believers—from dying children to elderly saints, from missionaries in distant lands to children in Sunday school classrooms around the world.
The Warner sisters may never have imagined the global impact their words and music would have, but God used their faithful service and creative gifts to spread a message that the church desperately needs to hear: we are loved by the God of the universe, and we can know it because His Word tells us so.
May this hymn remind you today that you belong to Him, that though you are weak, He is strong, that He has washed away your sin and opened heaven's gates wide, and that He will stay close beside you all the way until He takes you home.
References
Warner, Anna B. and Warner, Susan. Say and Seal. 1859.
Bradbury, William B. "Jesus Loves Me" (music). 1862.
