Service Book and Hymnal of the Lutheran Church in America ‎#489

489. 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. A-men.

4 How can I choose but love thee, God’s dear Son,
O Jesus, loveliest, and most loving One!
Were there no heaven 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
• Translator: Edward Henry Bickersteth, 1825 - 1906
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1958
• Topic: The Church Year: Lent; The Life In Christ: Contemplation
• Source: Latin hymn, XVII cent. Based on a Spanish hymn of unknown date

Tune Information

• Name: PAX DEI
• Composer: John Bacchus Dykes, 1823 - 76
• Meter: 10 10, 10 10.
• Key: D Major