Words: , Heilige Seelenlust, 1657 (Ich will dich lieben, meine Stärke); translated from German to English by , Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1739. Music: Admah, , Carmina Sacra (Boston, Massachusetts: J. H. Wilkins & R. B. Carter, 1844), p. 42. Alternate tunes:
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The Rev. William Arthur gives a description of Gideon Ouseley, the great Irish evangelist, which, he says, presents him exactly as he had often heard him spoken of by those in whose house Ouseley stayed. It is from the pen of the Rev. John Hughes. When he was a boy at home, he says, ‘On a raw November evening Ouseley preached at the corner of the street in which we resided at Portarlington. After preaching, he came into our house for some refreshment, and to wait until his time came again to preach in the chapel. When he took a seat in the little back apartment it was dusk. A turf fire played fitfully, and there was no other light. I crouched in an obscure corner, and Ouseley thought himself alone. He took off his cloak and hat, ejaculated “My blessed Master!” and wiped the perspiration from his head and face. He then poked the fire, and spread himself out before it. After musing a minute, he wept. Tear after tear rolled down his rugged cheeks. He repeated, in a low but distinct voice, the first two verses of the hymn, “Thee will I love, my strength, my tower.” After repeating the line, “Ah, why did I so late Thee know,” he smote his forehead with his big hand, and finished the verse.’
Thee will I love, my Strength, my Tower,
Thee will I love, my Joy, my Crown,
Thee will I love with all my power,
In all Thy works, and Thee alone;
Thee will I love, till the pure fire
Fill my whole soul with chaste desire.
Ah, why did I so late Thee know,
Thee, lovelier than the sons of men!
Ah, why did I no sooner go
To Thee, the only ease in pain!
Ashamed, I sigh, and inly mourn,
That I so late to Thee did turn.
In darkness willingly I strayed,
I sought Thee, yet from Thee I roved;
Far wide my wandering thoughts were spread,
Thy creatures more than Thee I loved;
And now if more at length I see,
’Tis through Thy light and comes from Thee.
I thank Thee, uncreated Sun,
That Thy bright beams on me have shined;
I thank Thee, who hast overthrown
My foes, and healed my wounded mind;
I thank Thee, whose enlivening voice
Bids my freed heart in Thee rejoice.
Uphold me in the doubtful race,
Nor suffer me again to stray;
Strengthen my feet with steady pace
Still to press forward in Thy way;
My soul and flesh, O Lord of might,
Fill, satiate, with Thy heavenly light.
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 flesh and heart decay?
Thee shall I love in endless day!