Jeremy Camp – Give Me Jesus

The song Give Me Jesus is a negro spirituals hymn, which found its way into hymnals since the 1860’s.  Since then, many artists have either recorded the original or (more commonly) put their own spin on this classic ditty.

Of all the versions that exist, Jeremy Camp’s recording of Give Me Jesus is (as of this writing) arguably the most famous and most played version that exists.  Since this is the version that was requested, it will be the version I review.

With that in mind, onto my review of Give Me Jesus!

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

It is a simple yet sobering message of priority.  In the morning, when alone, and in the face of death, what Jeremy wants most is Jesus.  If you want something else, that is your choice, but what he wants is Jesus.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

All of it!  Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

In the morning when I rise
In the morning when I rise
In the morning when I rise

In the morning, he awakens our ears (Isaiah 50:4-5) and we will hear of God’s steadfast love (Psalm 59:16, Psalm 90:14 and Psalm 143:8).  We will wait upon the LORD (Psalm 130:6) to which His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) in which we will find joy (Psalm 30:5).  We cry out to Him (Psalm 88:13) and He hears our voice (Psalm 55:17).

Give me Jesus

See Chorus 1,  below.

[Chorus 1]

Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus

Jeremy’s eyes are fixed on Jesus.  See Psalm 42:1-11, 1 Corinthians 2:2, Galatians 6:14,
Philippians 1:21-24, Philippians 3:8, and Hebrews 12:2.

You can have all this world

Yes, because it profits a man nothing to gain the whole world, yet forfeits his soul (Matthew 16:24-27 and Mark 8:34-38).

Just give me Jesus

See lines 1 and 2, above.

[Verse 2]

When I am alone
When I am alone
Oh, when I am alone

Jeremy is taking time to be alone with Jesus in prayer, just like Jesus often did, to spend time with the Father.  See Matthew 14:23, Matthew 26:36-44, Mark 1:35, Mark 6:46, Mark 14:32-41, Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12, Luke 9:18, and Luke 11:1.

Give me Jesus

See Chorus 1, lines 1 and 2.

[Chorus 2]

Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have all this world

See Chorus 1, line 3.

Just give me Jesus

See Chorus 1, lines 1 and 2.

Jesus
Give me Jesus

See Chorus 1, lines 1 and 2.

[Verse 3]

When I come to die
When I come to die
Oh, when I come to die

Jesus calls us to hate our parents, spouses, siblings and our own lives to follow Him (Luke 14:26-27).  While this sounds like a strong and counter-intuitive statement, we must understand that the Koine Greek word “miseō” (which translates to hate) literally means “to love less”.  That is, Jesus is not calling us to have a deep and profound abhorrence to our family, friends, and ourselves.  He is commanding us to love Him more than anything else.

There is a profound and vivid example of this concept in the Martyrdom of Stephen in Acts 7:54-60, where he says to Jesus “receive my Spirit” and asks Jesus “do not charge them with this sin”, similar to the final words of Jesus Himself before His death in Luke 23:34 and Luke 23:46.

Give me Jesus

See Chorus 1, lines 1 and 2.

[Chorus 3]

Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus

See Chorus 1, lines 1 and 2.

You can have all this world

See Chorus 1, line 3.

Just give me Jesus

See Chorus 1, lines 1 and 2.

Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus

See Chorus 1, lines 1 and 2.

You can have all this world
You can have all this world
You can have all this world

See Chorus 1, line 3.

Just give me Jesus

See Chorus 1, lines 1 and 2.

[Outro]

Jesus

See Chorus 1, lines 1 and 2.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

It will be near impossible for those outside Christianity to see anything other than the desire of Christ followers to receive Jesus above all other things.  No doubt, this will cause attraction to those interested in Christianity.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Since this song orients our focus to Jesus and nothing else, it obviously glorifies God.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Give Me Jesus is a classic ditty that transcends its origins in negro culture and has been sung for at least 150 years by millions of Christ followers.  Jeremy does not stray far from the original source material and its powerful lyrics to reorient our center on Jesus.  It serves as a powerful testimony to non-Christ followers and brings glory to God through Scripturally sound repetition.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: Give Me Jesus (listen to the song)

Artist: Jeremy Camp

Album: Beyond Measure

Genre: Hymn

Release Year: 2006

Duration: 4:24

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

*Copyright © 2006 Stolen Pride Music (ASCAP) Thirsty Moon River Publ. Inc. (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates:

03/24/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.