Jesus, the same yesterday, today and forever — the most important figure in human history — is THE Lord and Savior needed by all. Please give this bright song a sing-along listen and come back for a chat on singing new songs unto the Lord.

One-hit wonders and company

O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.
[Psalm 96:1]

The songs we’ve looked at on this song site have come from all kinds of people. Some songs were “one-hit wonders” — the only song the person was known to have written. (The good news is, if you and I want to sing a new song — of our own making — unto the Lord, we could write just one and still be in good company. Many have demonstrated a person does NOT need to be a prolific, professional songwriter to come up with something that can bless lots of people.)

On the other hand, of course many people have written a LOT of noteworthy songs as “professionals” — some so many it is hard to imagine. I’m told Lennon/McCartney (of The Beatles) wrote about 130 songs together. Folk singer Woody Guthrie (“This Land Is Your Land”) wrote about 3,000. (Not sure how many of these 3,130 were written to be new songs sung unto the Lord, but at least we get a sense of what people can do.)

In the world of hymn song writers, here are some interesting facts and figures:

• Martin Luther (1483-1546) authored at least 40 hymns.
• Isaac Watts (1674-1748) authored about 750 hymns. (He’s been called “the Godfather of English Hymnody.”)
• Charles Wesley (1707-1788) authored about 6500 hymns. (He, along with his older brother, John, were founders of the Methodists.)
• John Newton (1725-1807) is said to have authored 280 hymns. (In 1772 he wrote a poem named “Faith’s Review and Expectation” which was set to music and renamed “Amazing Grace”. I might have thought of Newton as being a “one-hit wonder” songwriter because of “Amazing Grace”. I was surprised when I learned he wrote so many others.)
• Fanny Crosby (1820-1915) wrote almost 9000 hymns. (She was blind from the age of 6 weeks and lived 95 years.)

The men who wrote our hymn, “I Need Jesus”, fit honorably within the range of songwriters listed above. They were ministers who made solid contributions to the body of “new songs to sing unto the Lord”.

Our song was first published one hundred years ago and has appeared in at least ninety-one hymnals. The words were written by George O. Webster (1866–1942), son of a Baptist minister. Webster was ordained to preach and ministered more than fifty years in Vermont, New Hampshire and upstate New York, mostly serving in non-denominational settings. He wrote several hundred published hymns and other songs. He was also state news editor for the Utica Morning Herald.

The tune for our hymn was written by Charles H. Gabriel (1856-1932). Gabriel was born in a small Iowa town and grew up on a farm, where friends and neighbors often gathered to sing. He accompanied the singing on the family reed organ he had taught himself to play. He was sixteen years old when he followed his father’s footsteps and started teaching singing in schools. He gained a reputation as a fine teacher and composer. At age 31 he moved to San Francisco and served as Sunday school music director at a Methodist church. Later he moved to Chicago and there edited classical music collections and songbooks for various music publishing companies. His gospel songs were widely used in the twenty-some years evangelist Billy Sunday did urban crusades around the early 1900’s. Hymns he wrote are still being used in modern hymnals. It is estimated that – in all – Gabriel wrote about seven thousand compositions.

“Apart from me you can do nothing”

If we were asked to find a single passage to explain the importance — and beauty — of the lyrics of this song, how about these words spoken by Jesus to his disciples? —

“Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.” [John 15:4-5 BSB]

We need Jesus!

Chose the better part

Getting priorities right is a huge key to success. Thanks to the Gospel of Luke we are able to listen in on coaching Jesus gave to Mary and Martha on this very point.

As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His message. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord replied, “you are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”
[Luke 10:38-42 BSB]

There is no end of things people claim deserve their best time and focus. But the more we line our thinking up with God’s Word and find our desire to please the Lord growing, and the more we seek to live lives of meaning and purpose, the more each of us can easily see and say, “I need Jesus.”

God bless you lots
-Dale R.

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Download this song sheet

LYRICS: I Need Jesus
Text: George O. Webster (1924)
Tune: Charles H. Gabriel

1. I need Jesus, my need I now confess;
No friend like Him in times of deep distress;
I need Jesus, the need I gladly own;
Tho’ some may bear their load alone,
Yet I need Jesus.

Chorus:
I need Jesus, I need Jesus,
I need Jesus ev’ry day;
Need Him when the sunshine brightens,
Need Him when the storm cloud frightens;
Ev’ry day along my way, yes, I need Jesus.

2. I need Jesus, I need a friend like Him,
A friend to guide when paths of life are dim;
I need Jesus, when foes my soul assail;
Alone I know I can but fail, So I need Jesus.

3. I need Jesus, I need Him to the end;
No one like Him, He is the sinner’s Friend;
I need Jesus, no other friend will do;
So constant, kind, so strong and true,
Yes, I need Jesus.

Let’s stay in touch

Each time I post a new song and lesson here I send a brief, cheerful note to friends of this song site. The note gives a quick description of the song and lesson along with a link to the new song’s page. It is super-easy for you to get a note from me, too. Just click the green “Song of the Week” button below and you are almost there.

To sweeten the deal, you will also get instant access to the “Music Box” where I put all the free resources and downloads that go along with these song pages. Check it out now! Good stuff. (Side note — I still post announcements on social media, too, even though I have learned it is terribly unreliable at getting the message out and keeping us connected. Email gets that job done where social media fails. We do well to connect this way, and avoid getting throttled by social media.)

Song of the Week

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