Jesus I Will Never Leave

Jesus I will never leave,
Who for me Himself hath given;
Firmly unto Him I’ll cleave
Nor from Him be ever driven.
Life from Him doth light receive,
Jesus I will never leave.

Jesus I will never leave
While on earth I am abiding;
That I have to Him I give,
All my cares in Him confiding.
Naught shall me of Him bereave,
Jesus I will never leave.

Though my sight shall pass away,
Hearing, taste, and feeling fail me;
Though my life’s last light of day
Shall o’ertake and sore assail me;
When His summons I receive,
Jesus I will never leave.

Nor will I my Jesus leave
When at last I shall come thither
Where His saints He will receive,
Where in bliss they live together.
Endless joy to me He’ll give,
Jesus I will never leave.

Not for earth’s vain joys I crave
Nor, without him, Heaven’s pleasure;
Jesus, who my soul did save,
Evermore shall be my Treasure.
He redemption did achieve,
Jesus I will never leave.

Author: Christian Gregor

Year: 1767

This is a well-known Moravian hymn (original German: "Jesu, geh voran" is different; this text is "Ich will dich nicht verlassen"). Christian Gregor, a key 18th-century Moravian bishop and hymn-writer, is the accepted author of the German original. English translations vary (often attributed to translators like John Swertner or anonymous), but the core lyrics are Gregor's.