This hymn seemed to be a mainstay of worship services in Baptist churches.  It is a testimony song that every believer would sing with fervor and gratitude.  The tune is written in a flowing 6/8 meter which enabled the congregation to sing the words according to notes or not, because the lyrics conveyed the heart song of every believer who experienced God’s love through salvation in His Son Jesus.  Interestingly enough the tune is anonymous, the composer is not known, but the words were written by Frederick Whitfield.  I think the hymn is familiar to many and should be a favorite of most, “Oh, How I Love Jesus.”

“There is a name I love to hear, I love to sing its worth;

It tells me of a Savior’s love, who dies to set me free;

It tells me of His precious blood, the sinner’s perfect plea.

It tells me what my Father has in store for every 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 each sorrow bears a part that none can bear below.

Oh, how I love Jesus, Oh, how I love Jesus,

Oh, how I love Jesus, because He first loved me.”

                                                                                                            – Frederick Whitfield

If you are familiar with the hymn, you couldn’t read the lyrics, you had to sing them. The hymn carries precious confidence in the love of God as demonstrated through Jesus, as well as confidence in God’s sustaining care for our challenges and our sorrows.  His great love implants a song of testimony and praise that must be sung.  It truly echoes the scripture, “We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19