And is the time app­roach­ing,
By pro­phets long fore­told,
When all shall dwell to­ge­ther,
One Sheph­erd and one fold?
Shall ev­ery id­ol per­ish,
To moles and bats be thrown,
And ev­ery prayer be of­fered
To God in Christ alone?

Shall Jew and Gen­tile, meet­ing
From ma­ny a dist­ant shore,
Around one al­tar kneel­ing,
One com­mon Lord adore?
Shall all that now di­vides us
Remove, and pass away
Like sha­dows of the morn­ing
Before the blaze of day?

Shall all that now unites us
More sweet and last­ing prove,
A clos­er bond of un­ion
In a blest land of love?
Shall war be learned no long­er,
Shall strife and tu­mult cease;
All earth His bless­èd king­dom,
The Lord and Prince of Peace?

O long ex­pect­ed dawn­ing,
Come with Thy cheer­ing ray;
When shall the morn­ing bright­en,
The sha­dows flee away?
O sweet an­ti­ci­pa­tion!
It cheers the watch­ers on
To pray, and hope, and lab­or,
Till the dark night be gone.