Scripture Verse

I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee. Luke 15:18

Introduction

portrait
John Coffman (1848–1899)

Words: John S. Coff­man, Bi­ble School Hymns and Sac­red Songs, ed­it­ed by Chris­tian H. Brunk (Elk­hart, In­di­ana: Men­non­ite Pub­lish­ing, 1883), page 49.

Music: Barr John S. Coff­man, 1883 (🔊 pdf nwc) Note: Though the tune was pub­lished by 1883, the har­mo­ni­za­tion in this ver­sion is from an 1890 hym­nal.

Lyrics

O, wea­ry wan­der­er,
Thy Sav­ior bids thee come;
Thou long in sin hast loved to roam,
But still He loves thee—come.

Think of thy Fa­ther’s house to­day,
Think of its plen­te­ous store;
Think of thy sin­ful, wan­der­ing way,
Then come, and roam no more.

Poor pro­di­gal, come home and rest,
Come and be re­con­ciled;
Thy Fa­ther’ll clasp thee to His breast—
He loves His wan­der­ing child.