To Be With Christ

The author of the following hymn is unknown to me. At present, I earliest I have found it thus far is in The Christian Lyre (Joshua Leavitt, New York, NY: Sleight and Robinson Printers, 1830) – with the tune Whiting on page 146, and the entire hymn printed on page 147. The hymn is without attribution, in length eight stanzas of common meter, and is titled “The Saint’s Choice.” That title seems connected to Philippians 1:21-24, and that ultimately “the saint’s choice” is “to be with Christ.”

It seems most later hymn books abbreviated to use only 5 stanzas of the hymn. Many show the theme’s connection to Philippians 1:23, especially the last half – “…to be with Christ; which is far better.” I have posted the entire hymn, but numbering the stanzas as they appear in No. 383 in The Baptist Hymn Book by William C. Buck (Louisville, KY: J. Eliot & Co., 1842), and adding the other stanzas from The Christian Lyre in brackets.

1. Long have I tried terrestrial joys,
But here can find no rest:
Far from earth’s vanity and noise
“To be with Christ is best.”

[Fair is the Siren’s painted face,
And sin looks gaily drest
To cheat me; but I fly t’embrace,
“To be with Christ is best.”]

[Temptation, with malignant smart,
Betray the unguarded breast:
Safe from the poison of each dart,
“To be with Christ is best.”

2. ’Tis desert here – and thorns and foes
Do all the road infest;
The danger of the journey’s short
“To be with Christ is best.”

3. When earth can no delights afford,
He spreads a heavenly feast;
Such dainties crown his royal board
“To be with Christ is best.”

4. By this I fly the desert through
And feel my soul refreshed;
What can obstruct me when I know,
“To be with Christ is best.”

5. There an eternity with thee,
I’ll think myself well blest;
I see thee here; but oh! to be—
“To be with Christ is best.”

[Loosed from my clog, I’ll dart the wing,
And seek on high my rest;
Sit in some heavenly grove and sing,
“To be with Christ is best.”

This hymn has come down to us in the shape note tradition with the tune Communion (basically the same as Whiting) – for example on page 61 of The Social Harp.

Interesting comments by Joshua Leavitt about his tunebook and tunes:

When Joshua Leavitt sent out The Christian Lyre, he testified that “the work is not designed to please scientific musicians, so much as to profit plain christians…” He generally gave a melody and bass for the tune, but sometimes only the melody, writing, “As the number of parts is apt to distract the attention of an audience, or to occupy them with the music instead of the sentiment, the tunes here printed will generally be accompanied with only a simple bass, and sometimes not even with that. In a vast multitude of cases the religious effect of a hymn is heightened by having all sing the air only.”

He seems to have a good attitude about whether or not the work would be accepted by the public: “Possessing no musical skill beyond that of ordinary plain singers, I send out my work, without pretensions. If it aids the progress of Christ’s cause, I shall be rewarded. If not, I shall be accepted according to what I had, and not according to what I had not. And it will prepare the way for some other person to do it better.” (Preface, page 3)