Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower (Winkworth)

Thee will I love, my Strength, my Tower;
Thee will I love, my Hope, my Joy;
Thee will I love with all my power,
With ardor time will ne’er destroy.
Thee will I love, O Light Divine,
So long as life is mine.

Thee will I love, my Life, my Savior,
Who art my best and truest Friend;
Thee will I love and praise forever,
For never shall Thy kindness end;
Thee will I love with all my heart,
Thou my Redeemer art.

I thank Thee, Jesus, Sun from Heaven,
Whose radiance hath brought light to me;
I thank Thee, who hast richly given
All that could make me glad and free;
I thank Thee that my soul is healed
By what Thy lips revealed.

Oh, keep me watchful, then, and humble
And suffer me no more to stray;
Uphold me when my feet would stumble,
Nor let me loiter by the way.
Fill all my nature with Thy light,
O Radiance strong and bright!

Oh, teach me, Lord, to love Thee truly
With soul and body, head and heart,
And grant me grace that I may duly
Practice fore’er love’s sacred art.
Grant that my every thought may be
Directed e’er to Thee.

Thee will I love, my Crown of gladness;
Thee will I love, my God and Lord,
Amid the darkest depths of sadness,
Nor for the hope of high reward—
For Thine own sake, O Light Divine,
So long as life is mine.

Author: Johann Scheffler

Year: 1657

This is Catherine Winkworth's English translation of Johann Scheffler's (Angelus Silesius) German hymn "Ich will dich lieben, meine Stärke" from his 1657 collection Heilige Seelenlust. The parenthetical "Winkworth" in the title refers to the translator, not the author of the original lyrics.