Hymn Story: I Love to Tell the Story

Born in England in 1834, Arabella Katherine Hankey — known as Kate to her friends — was part of an evangelical group called the Clapham Sect.

This group was led by none other than William Wilberforce and included well-known evangelicals and several Parliament members who opposed slavery and helped abolish slavery and the slave trade in England. 

Kate was an active supporter of missions and shared the gospel as much as she could while teaching the Bible to young women who worked in shops and visiting sick people in London's hospitals. She eventually became a missionary nurse to South Africa. 

While she was in her thirties, she became seriously ill for a time and during her long recovery, she wrote a long poem. She titled it "The Old, Old Story" and she divided the fifty stanzas into two parts. Part One was titled "The Story Wanted" and Part Two was titled "The Story Told."

Her poem was soon published in a missionary pamphlet and later William Fischer, a popular music director at revival meetings, set it to music. It became the hymn we know today as "I Love to Tell the Story."

While the majority of our hymnals include four stanzas that express a strong desire to share the gospel story, some hymnals include more stanzas that reveal the gospel story itself. 

I Love to Tell the Story

by Kate Hankey, 1866

I love to tell the story of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story because I know it's true;
It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.

Refrain:
I love to tell the story;
'Twill be my theme in glory
To tell the old, old story
Of Jesus and his love.

I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.
And when in scenes of glory I sing the new, new song,
'Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.

[Christ's Birth]
An angel brought glad tidings: "Send all your fears away,
For Christ, your Lord and Savior, is born for you this day."
Then many other angels sang praise for Jesus' birth:
"To God on high be glory, and peace to all the earth."

[Christ's Death]
Christ Jesus, pure and holy, without a spot or stain,
By wicked hands was taken, was crucified and slain!
And now the word is finished, the sinner's debt is paid,
Because on Christ the Righteous the sin of all was laid.

[Christ's Resurrection]
O wonderful redemption! The price for sin is paid,
Salvation is accomplished, my heart is unafraid,
For God has raised Christ Jesus to show the work was done;
His glorious resurrection declared the vict'ry won!

[Christ's Commission]
The Savior of all people has brought his peace to you;
Now go and tell the story, for others need it too.
To ev'ry land and nation ring out the gospel call;
Proclaim that Christ is risen and grants his peace to all.