Dear Jesus, in Whose Life I See

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1. Dear Jesus, in whose life I see all that I would, but fail to be, let thy clear light forever shine, to shame and guide this life of mine.

2. Though what I dream and what I do in my weak days are always two, help me, oppressed by things undone, O thou whose deeds and dreams were one!

Words by: John Hunter
Music by: Katholisches Gesanbuch;
adapt. from Metrical Psalter

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Background on John Hunter

Hunter was originally trained as a draper (someone who cuts and sells cloth for clothing) but felt called to ministry. He studied at Paton Congregational College in Nottingham and then at Spring Hill College in Birmingham (later Mansfield College, Oxford). He served notably as minister of Trinity Congregational Church in Glasgow, Scotland (with some interruptions), and briefly at King's Weigh House Chapel in London. He was deeply interested in worship and published works such as Services for Public Worship (1886) and collections of hymns. His hymns tend to emphasize devotional and ethical living shaped by Christ's example rather than heavily focusing on doctrine or otherworldliness.

Origin and Publication of the Hymn

The text was written around 1885 (some sources note 1889 for its appearance in collections). It first appeared in The Monthly Calendar, the magazine of Hunter's Trinity Church in Glasgow, and was later included in his Hymns of Faith and Life (1896). It is his only hymn to gain significant use in modern hymnals.

In its original form, it began "Dear Master..."; many later hymnals (including The United Methodist Hymnal) changed it to "Dear Jesus..." to reduce masculine language. It entered Methodist hymnals in 1935.

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