Hymn 113. The Pearl of Great Price

Matt. 13. 46

Ye glittering toys of earth adieu,

A nobler choice be mine;

A real prize attracts my view,

A treasure all divine.

Be gone, unworthy of my cares,

Ye specious baits of sense;

Inestimable worth appears,

The pearl of price immense.

Jesus, to multitudes unknown,

O name divinely sweet!

Jesus, in thee, in thee alone,

Wealth, honor, pleasure meet.

Should both the Indies at my call,

Their boasted stores resign,

With joy I would renounce them all,

For leave to call thee mine.

Should earth’s vain treasures all depart,

Of this dear gift possess’d;

I’d clasp it to my joyful heart,

And be for ever bless’d.

Dear sovereign of my soul’s desires,

Thy love is bliss divine;

Accept the wish that love inspires,

And bid me call thee mine.

Collection of Hymns Adapted to Public Worship, no. 113 (all stanzas); 1780, vol. 3, pp. 142-3; no MS copy; also Nonconformist Women Writers, vol. 2, p. 93. Evans would have had this in manuscript in 1778 about the time of her death, probably given to him from the collection of her manuscript poems and never returned. The hymn would appear in his 1780 edition as well.