Hymn

I Would Be Like Jesus

James Rowe

Earthly pleasures vainly call me;

I would be like Jesus;

Nothing worldly shall enthrall me;

I would be like Jesus. (would be like Jesus)

Be like Jesus, this my song,

In the home and in the throng;

Be like Jesus, all day long!

I would be like Jesus.

He has broken ev'ry fetter,

I would be like Jesus;

That my soul may serve Him better,

I would be like Jesus.(would be like Jesus)

All the way from earth to Glory,

I would be like Jesus;

Telling o’er and o’er the story,

I would be like Jesus.(would be like Jesus)

That in Heaven He may meet me,

I would be like Jesus;

That His words “Well done” may greet me,

I would be like Jesus.(would be like Jesus)

I Would Be Like Jesus — Text from The New Praiseworthy, 1916. Public domain. https://yeshuanow.com/hymns/i-would-be-like-jesus

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Questions about this hymn

Who wrote I Would Be Like Jesus?

The words of I Would Be Like Jesus were written by James Rowe; the version here was published in 1916. The library also holds Love Lifted Me, another hymn by James Rowe.

Is I Would Be Like Jesus public domain?

Yes. The words here are taken from The New Praiseworthy, published in 1916. Works published before 1931 are out of copyright in the United States, so you can print, project, perform and record this hymn freely. How we source and check every hymn.