Give peace, O God, the nations cry

1 Give peace, O God, the nations cry,
From evil man and deed;
Their voices, rising to the sky,
Proclaim a human need.

2 Yet not thy peace, O God, they ask,
The peace that grace bestows;
The peace which hallows care and task,
That makes us friends, not foes.

3 But peace they ask from war’s alarms,
Surcease from earthly care,
And peace that rests on fighting arms
Of land and sea and air.

4 We need the peace of heart and mind
In men from hate set free,
Who by their love for human kind
Show deeper love for thee.

5 O cleanse all hearts of pride and greed,
Remove all lust and sin,
That man from chains of wrath be freed,
Eternal peace to win.


Source: The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America 1940 #526a