Lord Jesus, I long in Thy presence to live

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.
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.
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.
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.

Copyright Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.

26
Mark

Kuching, Malaysia

My late dad favorite song Hymn 389. We sang at his funeral service


Sam Liu

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.


Steve

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.


David Wilson

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.


Nelson K

Norwich, United Kingdom

"O do not allow me to choose by myself,

Nor seek any pleasure that’s other than Thee."


Yvonne

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.


Paullah L.

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.


Maria Mistica

Lucena, Quezon, Philippines

O let not my heart be contented or rest

When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part.

Psalm 35:22 says "You have seen, O Jehovah; do not be silent. O Lord do not be far from me."

Psalm 30:7b "You hid Your face, I was troubled"

Just like the psalmist, may we also be troubled when He hide His face from us.

What a sweet God we have. Amen


Hubert

Philippines

O let not my heart be contented or rest

Oh Lord,

I dont want to remain the same

I just want to love You more,

I just want to give my all,

I just want to be found in You,

I just want only You.

But Lord I dont know how.

I dont know how to love You more,

I dont know how to give my all,

I dont know how to be found in You,

I dont know how to have only You

“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"

“Ako'y turuan Mong mamuhay sa Iyo,

Ikaw ang daigdig sa araw't gabi,

Sana'y di-mapalagay ang puso ko

Kung inaasam ang hindi Mo mithi. ”


Maeriehl Joy

Philippines

Stanza 1 says, "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."

I remembered a footnote in Exodus 33:14 which goes like this: "God’s presence is His way, the “map” that shows His people the way they should take (cf. John 14:6 and note 1; Heb. 11:8 and note)."

This is precious. As God’s people, we have a different map for how we go on in our lives.

Exo. 33:14 - And He said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.

Exo. 33:15 - And he said to Him, If Your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.

If His presence does not go with us, how restless we'll be! May we dare not go towards some place which costs us to lose His presence.

When we pray in our reading of the Word, we turn the verses we have read into prayer. When we pray, we must forget everything else and have only the Lord and His word. Hymns, #389 says, "From morning to evening my one world Thou art." This means that when we seek the Lord, we have only one world: "O Lord, You are my world; I seek You." When you pray a simple prayer like this, whatever you read and understand will enter into you. Once the word enters your spirit, it becomes the Spirit and life. However, if you do not pray, then the word that you read will not become the Spirit, nor will it become life.

Piano Hymns