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.
My Jesus, I Love Thee
By: William Ralph Featherston (1848–1875)
Listen to this simple piano arrangement as you read. And be sure to experience the worship-cultivating podcast below.
We take some time today to consider the now of those moments which purchased our redemption. It did not seem convenient for Jesus, but He wore the thorns and we Calvary anyway. Are we committed to loving even when it is inconvenient? Let’s think about that.
I Love Thee…
And here we are again repeating our commitment to love Jesus. It is still a response to what we have just sung and what is contained in the latter part of this stanza, but it is just as much a continual declaration to drive us along it our response. We love Him because He loved us first.
As we transition to loving in response to His wearing the crown of thorns, stop and take another moment here at the foot of Calvary’s tree. Humble yourself there to receive the pardon purchased with His broken body and shed blood. Let it wash over your soul with waves of unmerited grace. Let it illumine your heart as it pushes back the long night with the gentle glow of its eternal light.
Tell Jesus you love Him, and will keep loving Him for purchasing your pardon. Thank Him for laying down His life and ask Him to help you learn from and model that self-sacrifice.
For Wearing…
…the thorns on Thy brow. The symbol of mocking was simultaneously an unwitting tacit acknowledgement of His kingship. We gladly adore Him for His willingness to wear that crown, even though He was worthy of an entirely different one. How gracious of Him to do so, especially since He had done nothing to deserve such punishment and humiliation!
Can you imagine how excruciatingly painful wearing those thorns must have been to his physical body? Isaiah 52:14 says we would not have recognized Him, so brutal was their treatment of Him, this being one example of that torture. Even still it was but a weak illustration of the agony Christ must have felt in His spirit as the Father turned His face away. [Psalm 22:1]
He was worthy of sincere adoration, and will receive it eternally from grateful hearts, but those moments in which He wore that thorny crown He only received mocking and ridicule from his tormentors.
And twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Matthew 27:29 ESV
What love!
If ever…it’s now!
In response to that extravagant expression of love for us and obedience to the Father, we love Him.
We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19 ESV
Make that choice again today. Determine you will love Him because He loved you first. Ask Him to show you what that love should look like as you walk through your day. How can you reflect that kind of sacrificial love today? Do not put off to tomorrow what you can do today.
Jesus, thank You for putting action to Your words of love. Help me to do the same as I offer my love to You today. May I live in response to Calvary. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Podcast 9.2 Transcript
Welcome to Thursday Thoughts at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s think about this.
I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
Romans 5:8 ESV
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
The love we declared in the first stanza is of course a response to God’s love. That is made plain by the first line of the second stanza which gives poetic voice to this scripture. Thank God for loving you first, and sending his Son to demonstrate it.
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
Galatians 3:13 ESV
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
We were under the curse of sin but Jesus redeemed us by becoming a curse for us on Calvary’s tree. Sure, you know this, but when was the last time you pondered what that meant for Him on the cross? Take a few moments right now and just think about that.
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
Matthew 27:29 ESV
And twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
They placed the thorns on his head to mock him. We consider that crown on his brow and adore him. It is amazing to consider how different those two perspectives of the same event are isn’t it? Thank the Holy Spirit for allowing you to see that crown correctly, and respond appropriately.
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
1 John 4:19 ESV
We love because he first loved us.
That is what this entire stanza is about, our response of love to the love first showed to us by Christ. When we acknowledge that he initiated His love for us by becoming a curse for us and enduring the shame of the cross, the only right response is to love him, now, and forever more.
Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has come to your mind, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then I will read our text once more.
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.
Take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond. Until next time, be Resonant.
Image Attributions
I Love Thee… – https://pixabay.com/photos/cross-sunset-humility-devotion-1448946/
Thorns on Thy Brow – https://pixabay.com/photos/jesus-christ-clinic-jesus-christ-2437571/
If Ever I Loved Thee – https://pixabay.com/illustrations/good-friday-clipart-christ-easter-3249566/
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