Whom have I in heaven and on earth? — by Sir Robert Grant (1827)

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Aharon N. Varady (transcription) and Robert Grant

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4 April 2026 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

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19th century C.E., 56th century A.M., English poetry, English Romanticism, Prayers as poems, Psalms 71

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	Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire in comparison of thee. (Psalms 73:25)
	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 from 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 wert 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 lur’d thy wandering child; I was blind; thy healing ray Charm’d the long eclipse away; Source of every joy I know, Solace of my every wo, O if once thy smile divine Ceas’d upon my soul to shine, What were earth or heaven to me? Whom have I in each but thee?

This untitled poem by Sir Robert Grant was published posthumously by Robert’s brother Charles Grant (Lord Glenelg) as the third poem (“Ⅲ”) in Sacred Poems by the Late Right Hon. Sir Robert Grant (1839), pp. 9-11. It was first published without attribution as hymn №19 in the Appendix of Hymns for private devotion, selected and original (ed. Bethia Fuller-Maitland, 1827) on pages 190-191. It was first attributed to Grant as hymn №12 in Psalms and Hymns for Public, Private, and Social Worship (ed. Henry V. Elliott, 1835) on pages 63-64.

Source(s)

Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Robert Grant

Sir Robert Grant, GCH (1779 – 9 July 1838), born in Bengal, was a British lawyer and politician who had a distinguished public career as Governor of Bombay and as a member of the British Parliament. Of Scottish ancestry, his father was a director of the East India Company. His family relocated to England in 1790 where he later studied law at Magdalene College, Cambridge. In 1807, he passed the bar after which he became a Commissioner in Bankruptcy. Between 1818 and 1832, he was an elected member of Parliament for several different Burghs. He advocated for the removal of the "Jewish disabilities" (legal restrictions, limitations and obligations placed on British Jewry). and twice carried bills on the subject through the House of Commons. They were, however, rejected in the Upper House, which did not yield on the question until 1858, twenty years after Grant's death.

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו׃ (תהלים צ:יז) · "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." (Psalms 90:17)

Whom have I in heaven and on earth? — by Sir Robert Grant (1827)

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