1 Father of Love, our Guide and Friend,
O lead us gently on,
Until life's trial-time shall end,
And heavenly peace be won.
2 We know not what the path may be
As yet by us untrod;
But we can trust our all to Thee,
Our Father and Our God.
3 If called, like Abraham's child, to climb
The hill of sacrifice,
Some angel may be there in time;
Deliverance shall arise;
4 Or if some darker lot be good,
O teach us to endure
The sorrow, pain, or solitude,
That makes the spirit pure.
5 Christ by no flowery pathway came;
And we, His followers here,
Must do Thy will and praise Thy name,
In hope, and love, and fear.
6 And, till in heaven we sinless bow,
And faultless anthems raise,
O Father, Son, and Spirit now
Accept our feeble praise.
Amen.
The Hymnal: Published by the authority of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1895
First Line: | Father of Love, our Guide and Friend |
Title: | Father of Love |
Author: | William J. Irons (1844) |
Meter: | 8.6.8.6 |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
Father of Love, our Guide and Friend. W.J. Irons. [Confirmation.] Written for a confirmation, held at Brompton in 1844, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines. One of the earliest collections in which it is found is The Hymns for the Christian Seasons, by the Rev. R. T. Lowe, Gainsburgh, 1854, No. 185. In 1861 the author included it in his Words of the Hymns in the App. of the Brompton Metrical Psalter, No. 7 ; in 1866 in his Hymns for use in Church, No. 20; in 1873 in his Hymns for the Church; and in 1875 in his Psalms and Hymns for the Church. In the last two it is divided into 6 stanzas of 4 lines as in the Gainsburgh book of 1854. Outside of Dr. Irons's collections it has attained to a somewhat extensive use in Great Britain and America, and is found in many of the best selections. Originally written for Confirmation, it is also adapted for "The New Year," or, in "Time of Trial." Original text in Thring's Collection 1882, No. 284.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)