Scripture Verse

In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Genesis 22:18

Introduction

portrait
Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

Words: Charles Wes­ley, Hymns for the Na­ti­vi­ty of Our Lord (Lon­don: Will­iam Stra­han, 1745), num­ber 21.

Music: Lux Eoi Ar­thur S. Sul­li­van, Church Hymns with Tunes (Lon­don: So­ci­ety for Pro­mot­ing Chris­tian Know­ledge, 1874), num­ber 67 (🔊 pdf nwc).

portrait
Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900)

Lyrics

Come, Thou uni­ver­sal bless­ing,
Abraham’s long ex­pect­ed seed;
Perfect peace and joy un­ceas­ing
Thro’ the ran­somed na­tions spread:
Devilish pride, and bru­tal pas­sion,
Far from ev­ery heart re­move;
Bless us with Thy full sal­va­tion,
Bless us with Thy hea­ven­ly love.

Happy is the man for­giv­en,
This let every sin­ner feel;
Taste in Thee his pre­sent hea­ven,
Pant for great­er bless­ings still;
O that all anew cre­at­ed,
Might Thine im­age here re­trieve;
Then to pa­ra­dise trans­lat­ed,
In Thy glo­ri­ous pre­sence live!