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Home  »  The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century  »  Sir Robert Grant (1779–1838)

Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907.

By Sacred Poems. IV. “Whom have I in heaven but Thee?”

Sir Robert Grant (1779–1838)

  • “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire in comparison of Thee.”
  • Psalm lxxiii. 25.


  • LORD of earth! Thy forming hand

    Well this beauteous frame hath plann’d,

    Woods that wave, and hills that tower,

    Ocean rolling, in his power,

    All that strikes the gaze unsought,

    All that charms the lonely thought,

    Friendship,—gem transcending price,

    Love,—a flower of paradise,

    Yet, amidst this scene so fair,

    Should I cease Thy smile to share,

    What were all its joys to me;

    Whom have I on earth but Thee?

    Lord of Heaven! beyond our sight

    Rolls a world of purer light;

    There, in love’s unclouded reign,

    Parted hands shall clasp again;

    Martyrs there, and prophets high

    Blaze a glorious company;

    While immortal music rings

    From unnumbered seraph strings;

    O! that world is passing fair;

    Yet if Thou were absent there,

    What were all its joys to me?

    Whom have I in heaven but Thee?

    Lord of earth and heaven! my breast

    Seeks in Thee its only rest;

    I was lost; Thy accents mild

    Homeward lured Thy wandering child.

    I was blind! Thy healing ray

    Charmed the long eclipse away;

    Source of every joy I know

    Solace of my every woe,

    O if once Thy smile divine

    Ceased upon my soul to shine

    What were earth and heaven to me?

    Whom have I in each but Thee?