February 14, 2005

I Love Thee

American Folk Hymn
Anonymous
Originally found in Christian Harmony, or Songsters Companion by Jeremiah Ingalls

     Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD. Psalm 31:23, 24.

    A song that encourages us to show our love for the Lord in both praise and obedience is I Love Thee, I Love Thee. The text is sometimes attributed to John Adam Granade (late 1700's or early 1800's). However, it is generally considered of folk origin and is now known to have first appeared in the 1801 Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs published by Richard Allen (1760-1831). The tune (Charity) is also most likely of folk origin. Both words and music appear to have been arranged in their present form by Jeremiah Ingalls, who was born in Andover, MA, on March 1, 1746. When he was thirteen, his father, Abijah Ingalls, died from the hardships and privations of being a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
    Jeremiah later settled in Newbury, VT, and married Mary Bigelow. At various times he made his livelihood by working as a farmer, a cooper or barrelmaker, an innkeeper, and a singing teacher. In fact, the Ingalls family was a very musical group. All of Jeremiah's children played instruments--violin, flute, clarinet, and bassoon--with their father leading the ensemble with his bass fiddle.
     Jeremiah Ingalls moved to Newbury, Vermont, in 1787, and in 1791 began leading the singing at the First Church there. The choir became quite well known, and people came from miles around to hear them. In 1803 Ingalls became a deacon, though he was removed and excommunicated in 1810. He had run a tavern for a number of years, but sold it and moved to Rochester, Vermont, after his falling out with the church.
    At Newbury, Ingalls was a deacon and the song director in the local Congregational Church. During this time, he compiled a much used hymnbook, The Christian Harmony, or Songsters Companion, which was published in 1805 by Henry Ranlet of Exeter, NY, and contained a number of tunes composed or arranged by Ingalls.
    It is from this collection that the hymn, I Love Thee, I Love Thee, is taken, its being the first appearance of the melody in print. The Ingalls family moved to Rochester, VT, in 1819, and later to Hancock, VT, where Jeremiah died at the age of 64 on Apr. 6, 1828. Ingalls's hymnbook was evidently quite well known in early nineteenth century New England, but only this song seems to have maintained any lasting degree of popularity.

I love Thee, I love Thee, I love Thee, my Lord;
I love Thee, my Savior, I love Thee, my God;
I love Thee, I love Thee, and that Thou dost know;
But how much I love Thee my actions will show.

I’m happy, I’m happy, oh, wondrous account!
My joys are immortal, I stand on the mount;
I gaze on my treasure and long to be there,
With Jesus and angels and kindred so dear.

O Jesus, my Savior, with Thee I am blessed.
My life and salvation, my joy and my rest.
Thy Name be my theme, and Thy love be my song;
Thy grace shall inspire both my heart and my tongue.

Oh, who’s like my Savior? He’s Salem’s bright King;
He smiles and He loves me and helps me to sing:
I’ll praise him, I’ll praise Him with notes loud and clear,
While rivers of pleasure my spirit shall cheer.