Come, thou choicest gift of heaven

Verse 1
Come, thou choicest gift of heaven,
Far from earth by sinners driven,
While we for thy absence mourn,
Lovely, lasting peace return.

Verse 2
Forfeited by Britain’s sin,
Lost to us thou long hast been,
Us for our iniquity,
Punish’d with the want of thee.

Verse 3
Never can we know thy way,
While we from our Maker stray:
But we now our sin deplore;
Come, and never leave us more.

Verse 4
Prince of Peace, and Israel’s King,
With thyself the blessing bring:
Peace divine thy Spirit imparts;
Plant thy kingdom in our hearts.

Verse 5
Every stubborn spirit bow,
Turn us, Lord, and turn us now,
Thou who hear’st thy people’s prayer,
End this dire intestine war.

Verse 6
Sprinkling us with thy own blood,
Reconcile us first to God,
Then let all the British race
Kindly, cordially embrace.

Verse 7
Concord, on a distant shore,
To our countrymen restore,
Every obstacle remove
Melt our hatred into love.

Verse 8
Gospel-grace to each extend,
Every foe, and every friend,
Then in thee we sweetly find
Peace with God, and all mankind.

Hymnal/Album: Originally titled: “For Peace.” Introduced in Charles Wesley, Hymns for the Nation in 1782, In Two Parts (London: J. Paramore, 1781), in the section Hymns for the National Fast, February 8, 1782.Published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 8 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1870), page 334.
Publishing: Public Domain