Jesus, gentlest Savior

Representative Text

1 Jesu, gentlest Saviour,
thou art in us now,
fill us with thy goodness,
till our hearts o’erflow.

2 Multiply our graces,
chiefly love and fear,
and, dear Lord, the chiefest,
grace to persevere.

3 Oh, how can we thank thee
for a gift like this,
gift that truly maketh
heaven’s eternal bliss!

4 Ah! when wilt thou always
make our hearts thy home?
We must wait for heaven;
then the day will come.

Source: CPWI Hymnal #599a

Author: Frederick W. Faber

Raised in the Church of England, Frederick W. Faber (b. Calverly, Yorkshire, England, 1814; d. Kensington, London, England, 1863) came from a Huguenot and strict Calvinistic family background. He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and ordained in the Church of England in 1839. Influenced by the teaching of John Henry Newman, Faber followed Newman into the Roman Catholic Church in 1845 and served under Newman's supervision in the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. Because he believed that Roman Catholics should sing hymns like those written by John Newton, Charles Wesley, and William Cowpe, Faber wrote 150 hymns himself. One of his best known, "Faith of Our Fathers," originally had these words in its third stanza: "Faith of Our Fathers! Mary'… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Jesus, gentlest Savior, God of might and power
Title: Jesus, gentlest Savior
Author: Frederick W. Faber (1854)
Meter: 6.5.6.5
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Jesus, gentlest [holy] Saviour, God of might, &c. F. W. Faber. [Holy Communion.] This hymn of “Thanksgiving after Communion" was published in his Oratory Hymns, n.d. [1854], No. 20, in 12 stanzas of 4 lines; and again in his Hymns, 1862, No. 91. It is given in its full form in some Roman Catholic hymn-books for Missions and Schools, and altered and abbreviated in various collections, including (1) the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871, as "Jesu, Lord and Saviour"; (2) J. G. Gregory's Bonchurch Hymn Book, 1868, as "Jesus, holy Saviour"; (3) Mrs. Brock's Children's Hymn Book, 1881, as "Jesu, gentlest Saviour"; and (4) Martineau's Hymns, 1873, as "Father, gracious Father." In Nicholson's Appendix Hymnal, 1866, the hymn is divided into two parts, Pt. ii. beginning "Jesu, dear Redeemer." In these various forms its use is extensive.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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CPWI Hymnal #599a

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CPWI Hymnal #599b

AGO Founders Hymnal #33

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Worship and Service Hymnal #497

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