1
Lord Jesus, I long in Thy presence to live,
From morning to evening my one world Thou art;
O let not my heart be contented or rest
When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part.
Each moment, each day, throughout suff’ring and pain,
When nought in the world can give comfort or cheer,
When sighing and weeping encompasses me,
Lord, still all my sighing and wipe every tear.
From morning to evening my one world Thou art;
O let not my heart be contented or rest
When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part.
Each moment, each day, throughout suff’ring and pain,
When nought in the world can give comfort or cheer,
When sighing and weeping encompasses me,
Lord, still all my sighing and wipe every tear.
2
Each time when I dream of the goodness of life,
I pray Thee, dear Lord, that Thou in it may be;
O do not allow me to choose by myself,
Nor seek any pleasure that’s other than Thee.
Each night when alone in the stillness I lie,
I pray Thee, Lord Jesus, that Thou wilt be near;
Each morning ere dawn comes, while still in my sleep,
Then whispering call me and open my ear.
I pray Thee, dear Lord, that Thou in it may be;
O do not allow me to choose by myself,
Nor seek any pleasure that’s other than Thee.
Each night when alone in the stillness I lie,
I pray Thee, Lord Jesus, that Thou wilt be near;
Each morning ere dawn comes, while still in my sleep,
Then whispering call me and open my ear.
3
Each time, Lord, when reading in Thy holy Word,
I pray that Thy glory may shine on each line,
That clearly I’ll see what a Savior I have
And how great salvation that Thou hast made mine.
When helpless I come, Lord, to kneel at Thy throne,
I pray Thee to hear me and grant me Thy grace;
If thru my shortcomings Thou hear not my prayer,
Withdraw not Thy presence, O hide not Thy face.
I pray that Thy glory may shine on each line,
That clearly I’ll see what a Savior I have
And how great salvation that Thou hast made mine.
When helpless I come, Lord, to kneel at Thy throne,
I pray Thee to hear me and grant me Thy grace;
If thru my shortcomings Thou hear not my prayer,
Withdraw not Thy presence, O hide not Thy face.
4
Each time when of heavenly blessings I think,
O let my heart long to be raptured to Thee;
My only hope here is Thy coming again,
My only joy there, Lord, Thy presence will be.
Lord, teach me each day in Thy presence to live,
From morning to evening my one world Thou art;
O let not my heart be contented or rest
When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part.
O let my heart long to be raptured to Thee;
My only hope here is Thy coming again,
My only joy there, Lord, Thy presence will be.
Lord, teach me each day in Thy presence to live,
From morning to evening my one world Thou art;
O let not my heart be contented or rest
When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part.
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Austin, Texas, United States
This hymn is based on a poem written by Lady Powerscourt (Theodosia Anne Howard) titled “Lord, All My Desire is Before Thee”
Here are the original words:
“Lord, let my heart still turn to Thee, In all my hours of waking thought;
Nor let this heart e'er wish to flee, To think, or feel, where Thou art not.
In every hour of pain or woe,
When nought on earth this heart can cheer, When sighs will burst, and tears will flow, Lord, hush the sigh, and chase the tear.
In every dream of earthly bliss
Do Thou, dear Saviour, present be;
Nor let me dream of happiness
On earth, without the thought of Thee.
To my last lingering thought at night
Do Thou, Lord Jesus, still be near;
And ere the dawn of opening light, In still small accents wake mine ear.
Whene'er I read Thy sacred word, Bright on the page in glory shine;
And let me say, "This precious Lord In all His full salvation's mine."
And when before the throne I kneel,
Grant from that throne of grace my prayer;
And let each hope of heaven I feel
Burn with the thought to meet Thee there.
Thus teach me, Lord, to look to Thee, In ev'ry hour of waking thought;
Nor let me ever wish to be,
To think, or feel where Thou are not. “
This poem can be found in the book, “The Letters and Papers of Lady Powerscourt. ” You can definitely see the inspiration of the hymn in this poem, but overall it is quite different. I agree with Robin’s thought that Watchman Nee translated this poem to Chinese and provided changes to match a tune. It was probably further changed when retranslated back to English - Regardless, the message of the poem/hymn match and clearly reflect the lives these dear saints lived. I highly recommend reading Lady Powerscourt’s letters, as they have deeply impacted me and, I presume, Watchman Nee as well.
Jinja, Uganda
Today, I was enjoying that hymn while studying the book of galatians, but I have realized that whenever I sing that hymn, it comes true, all my morning times I wish to sing it always because it's experience it's real.
But it makes me always to pray to the Lord, for wonderful brothers who are able to live us with such experiences from the Lord like that, like the prayer of the writer of that hymn, in his book the spiritual man, he also prayed for the Lord to rise up brothers who know how to walk by the spirit.
Iroquois Falls, Ontario, Canada
As to the question of authorship in this hymn.
My brief research shows Watchman Nee as an Adaptor ( in copyright law an adaptor can be referred to as an author)
An adaptor modifies a pre-existing musical work or its musical notation. It can take different forms depending on how it's written, who it's for, and the musical genre.
The adaptation(s) done by Watchman Nee , I have not determined, but I think likely translation to Chinese, and or minor wording changes to fit the tune chosen. If anyone has knowledge of history of this hymn it would be good to post.
It is a wonderful hymn/ prayer that I enjoy often.
Kuching, Malaysia
My late dad favorite song Hymn 389. We sang at his funeral service
New York City, NY, United States
Is 50:4 The Lord Jehovah has given me / The tongue of the instructed, / That I should know how to sustain the weary with a word. / He awakens me morning by morning; / He awakens my ear / To hear as an instructed one.
Is 50:5The Lord Jehovah has opened my ear; / And I was not rebellious, / Nor did I turn back.
Plano, TX, United States
@David Wilson, this was written by Lady Powercourt. Israel in Diamond Bar cites a biography of JN Darby in an older comment. Watchman Nee may have adapted it and set it to the tune of Flow Gently Sweet Afton, I am not sure.
Davis, CA, United States
Just curious - there is a comment below that says rather convincingly that this hymn was written by Lady Theodosia Powerscourt in approximately 1835, but the credit is given to Watchman Nee. Can anyone clarify? Regardless of who wrote it, it is a wonderful hymn and we should focus on the content and be brought into the sweet longing for fellowship with the Lord in His presence.
Norwich, United Kingdom
"O do not allow me to choose by myself,
Nor seek any pleasure that’s other than Thee."
Nottingham, United Kingdom
Dear Brother Park. What has caused the confusion is the word order. Normally in English we would not use this word order, but changing things round like this is common in poetry and hymns. The phrase "in your presence" would normally be at the end of the sentence: I long to live in your presence. Imagine this phrase has commas round it: I long, in your presence, to live. Bless you in the name of our Lord Yeshua the King.
Other State/Province..., Philippines
"O let not my heart be contented or rest
When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part."
May not all these worldly pleasures fool my heart. Remind me of the sweetness of Your presence and how vanity can never match its peerlessness, O Lord.