Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church ‎#58

58. O God, I love Thee; not that my poor love

1 O God, I love Thee; not that my poor love
May win me entrance to Thy Heaven above,
Nor yet that strangers to Thy love must know
The bitterness of everlasting woe.

2 But, Jesus, Thou art mine, and I am Thine;
Clasped to Thy bosom by Thy arms divine,
Who on the cruel Cross for me hast borne
The nails, the spear, and man’s unpitying scorn.

3 No thought can fathom and no tongue express
Thy griefs, Thy toils, Thy anguish measureless,
Thy death, O Lamb of God the undefiled,--
And all for me, Thy wayward sinful child.

4 How can I choose but love Thee, God’s dear Son,
O Jesus, loveliest, and most loving One!
Were there no heav'n to gain, no hell to flee,
For what Thou art alone I must love Thee.

5 Not for the hope of glory or reward,
But even as Thyself hast loved me, Lord,
I love Thee, and will love Thee and adore,
Who art my King, my God, for evermore.

Amen.

Text Information

• First Line: O God, I love Thee; not that my poor love
• Author: Francis Xavier (?), d. 1552
• Translator: Edward Henry Bickersteth (1889)
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1917
• Topic: The Church Year: Lent
• Notes: Public Domain.

Tune Information

• Name: PAX DEI
• Composer: John B. Dykes (1868)
• Meter: 10 10, 10 10
• Key: D Major
• Notes: Public Domain.