Religion

Isaiah 11:6, 7: Prince of universal peace

by Charles Wesley 1707–1788

From Short Hymns on Select Passages of the Holy Scriptures (1762) · Osborn ed., vol. 9 (1870)

Religion

Prince of universal peace.
Destroy the enmity,
Bid our jars and discords cease,
Unite us all in Thee:
Cruel as wild beasts we are.
Till vanquish'd by Thy mercy's power;
Men, like wolves, each other tear,
And their own flesh devour.

But if Thou pronounce the word
That forms our souls again.
Love and harmony restored
Throughout the earth shall reign;
When Thy wondrous love they feel,
The human savages are tame,
Ravenous wolves, and leopards dwell
And stable with the lamb.

Bears transform'd with oxen graze,
Their young together feed,
With the calf the lion plays,
Nor rends the dandled kid;
Harshest natures reconciled
With soft, and fierce with meek agree,
Gentle, tractable, and mild
As harmless infancy.

O that now with pardon bless'd
We each might each embrace,
Quietly together rest,
And feed upon Thy grace,
Like our sinless parents live!
Great Shepherd, make Thy goodness known,
All into Thy fold receive,
And keep for ever one.

MLA

Wesley, Charles. “Isaiah 11:6, 7: Prince of universal peace.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/wesley_c/3414/.

Chicago

Wesley, Charles. “Isaiah 11:6, 7: Prince of universal peace.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/wesley_c/3414/.

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