Hymn

God My Only Happiness

Metre 8.6.8.6

My God, my portion, and my love,

My everlasting All,

I've none but thee in heaven above,

Or on this earthly ball.

What empty things are all the skies,

And this inferior clod!

There's nothing here deserves my joys,

There's nothing like my God.

In vain the bright, the burning sun

Scatters his feeble light;

'Tis thy sweet beams create my noon;

If thou withdraw 'tis night.

And whilst upon my restless bed,

Among the shades I roll,

If my Redeemer shows his head,

'Tis morning with my soul.

To thee I owe my wealth, and friends,

And health, and safe abode:

Thanks to thy name for meaner things:

But they are not my God.

How vain a toy is glittering wealth,

If once compared to thee;

Or what's my safety, or my health,

Or all my friends to me?

Were I possessor of the earth,

And called the stars my own,

Without thy graces and thyself,

I were a wretch undone.

Let others stretch their arms like seas,

And grasp in all the shore;

Grant me the visits of thy grace,

And I desire no more.

God My Only Happiness — Text from The Southern Harmony, 1854. Public domain. https://yeshuanow.com/hymns/god-my-only-happiness

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Questions about this hymn

Who wrote God My Only Happiness?

The words of God My Only Happiness were written by Isaac Watts; the version here was published in 1854. The library holds 248 more hymns by Isaac Watts, including Delight in Ordinances of Worship; or, God present in his Churches and The Church's Safety and Triumph Among National Desolations.

Is God My Only Happiness public domain?

Yes. The words here are taken from The Southern Harmony, published in 1854. 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 God My Only Happiness?

God My Only Happiness is in Common Metre (8.6.8.6). Hymns in the same metre can usually be sung to the same tunes — for example, O help us, Lord; each hour of need, The Witnessing and Sealing Spirit and Creation and Providence.