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Longing for Christ

Representative Text

1 O could I find from day to day,
A nearness to my God;
Then should my hours glide sweet away,
And lean upon his word.

2 Lord I desire with thee to live
Anew from day to day;
In joys the world can never give,
Nor ever take away.

3 O Jesus, come and rule my heart,
And make me wholly thine,
That I may never more depart,
Nor grieve thy love divine.

4 Thus till my last expiring breath,
Thy goodness I'll adore;
And when my flesh dissolves in death,
My soul shall love thee more.

5 Through boundless grace I then shall spend,
An everlasting day,
In the embraces of that friend,
Who took my guilt away.

6 His worthy name shall have the praise,
To whom all praise is due;
While angels and archangels gaze,
On scenes forever new.

The Hartford Selection of Hymns from the most approved authors, 1799

Author: Benjamin Cleveland

Cleveland, Benjamin. Probably a Baptist, but known only by his Hymns on Different Spiritual Subjects, in Two Parts, whereof the 4th ed. appeared in Norwich, Connecticut, 1792. He is the author of:— 0 could I find from day to day. [Longing for Christ.] This was preserved from oblivion by the Hartford Selection 1799, and is now in general use as altered and abridged to 4 stanzas by Nettleton, in his Village Hymns, 1824, No. 145. What is supposed to be the original text of the first four stanzas is found in Dr. Hatfield's Church Hymn Book, 1872, No. 876. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: O could I [we] find from day to day
Title: Longing for Christ
Author: Benjamin Cleveland
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Tune

NAOMI (Nägeli)

NAOMI was a melody that Lowell Mason (PHH 96) brought to the United States from Europe and arranged as a hymn tune; the arrangement was first published in the periodical Occasional Psalm and Hymn Tunes (1836). Some scholars have attributed the original melody to Johann G. Nageli (PHH 315), but there…

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COOLING (Abbey)


EVAN (Havergal)

This tune [EVAN], "the popularity of which in Scotland, America, and the Colonies is quite unprecedented" (Tonic Sol Fa Reporter, May 15, 1870), consists of the 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 8th strains of "O Thou dread Power" a sacred song by the Rev. W.H. Havergal, the melody being unaltered. EVAN II is the…

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Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 2 of 2)

The Baptist Hymnal #376

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #8274

Include 267 pre-1979 instances
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