Hymn
Christ's Presence Desirable
My God, my Life, my Love,
To thee, to thee I call;
I cannot live, if thou remove,
For thou art all in all.
To thee, and thee alone,
The angels owe their bliss:
They sit around thy gracious throne,
And dwell where Jesus is.
Not all the harps above
Can make a heavenly place,
If God his residence remove,
Or but conceal his face.
Nor earth, nor all the sky,
Can one delight afford--
No, not one drop of real joy
Without thy presence, Lord.
Thou art the sea of love,
Where all my pleasures roll;
The circle where my passions move,
And centre of my soul.
Christ's Presence Desirable — Text from Laudes Domini, 1884. Public domain. https://yeshuanow.com/hymns/christs-presence-desirable
Chord chart coming soon
Want to play this one? Leave your email and we'll let you know when the chords are ready.
Questions about this hymn
Who wrote Christ's Presence Desirable?
The words of Christ's Presence Desirable were written by Isaac Watts; the version here was published in 1884. The library holds 248 more hymns by Isaac Watts, including A Penitent Pleading for Pardon and Our Own Weakness, and Christ Our Strength.
Is Christ's Presence Desirable public domain?
Yes. The words here are taken from Laudes Domini, published in 1884. Works published before 1931 are out of copyright in the United States, so you can print, project, perform and record this hymn freely. How we source and check every hymn.
What is the metre of Christ's Presence Desirable?
Christ's Presence Desirable is in Short Metre (6.6.8.6). Hymns in the same metre can usually be sung to the same tunes — for example, How heavy is the night, Revive Thy Work, O Lord and A Charge to Keep I Have.