Thee will I love, my strength and tower,
Thee will I love, my joy and crown,
Thee will I love with all my power,
In all my works, and Thee alone.
Thee will I love, till that pure fire
Fills my whole soul with strong desire.
Give to mine eyes refreshing tears;
Give to my heart chaste, hallowed fires;
Give to my soul, with filial fears
The love that all heaven's host inspires;
That all my powers, with all their might,
In thy sole glory may unite.
Thee will I love, my joy, my crown,
Thee will I love, my Lord, my God;
Thee will I love beneath thy frown
Or smile, thy scepter or thy rod;
What though my head and flesh decay?
Thee shall I love in endless day.
--Johann A. Scheffler, tr. by John Wesley.