My Eternal King

“My God, I love Thee: Not because I hope for heaven thereby,
Nor yet because who love Thee not must die eternally.
Thou, O my Jesus, Thou didst me upon the cross embrace;
For me didst nails and spear, and manifold disgrace;
Why, then why, O blessed Jesus Christ, should I not love Thee well?
Not for the hope of winning heaven, or of escaping hell;
Not with the hope of gaining aught, not seeking a reward;
But as Thyself hast loved me, O everloving Lord!
Even so I love Thee, and will love, and in Thy praise will sing;
Solely because Thou art my God, and my Eternal King.”
                                                                                                                         Jane Marshall