Father of Love

Representative Text

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

Author: William J. Irons

Irons, William Josiah, D.D., son of Joseph Irons, was born at Hoddesdon, Herts, Sep. 12, 1812, and educated at Queen's College, Oxford (B.A. 1833, D.D. 1854), and took Holy Orders 1835. In 1837 he became Incumbent of St. Peter's, Walworth, and was subsequently Vicar of Barkway, Incumbent of Brompton, Rector of Wadingham; and in 1872, Rector of St. Mary-Woolnoth, formerly held by his father's friend, John Newton. He was also Bampton Lecturer in 1870, and Prebendary of St. Paul's Cathedral. He died June 18, 1883. Dr. Irons took a somewhat prominent part in the ecclesiastical controversies of his day, and published extensively thereon in the form of Sermons, Letters, Pamphlets, &c. His important work, the Bampton Lectures, 1870, was on Christi… Go to person page >

Text Information

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

Notes

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)

Tune

ST. AGNES (Dykes)

John B. Dykes (PHH 147) composed ST. AGNES for [Jesus the Very Thought of Thee]. Dykes named the tune after a young Roman Christian woman who was martyred in A.D. 304 during the reign of Diocletian. St. Agnes was sentenced to death for refusing to marry a nobleman to whom she said, "I am already eng…

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NOX PRAECESSIT


BEATITUDO

Composed by John B. Dykes (PHH 147), BEATITUDO was published in the revised edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern (1875), where it was set to Isaac Watts' "How Bright Those Glorious Spirits Shine." Originally a word coined by Cicero, BEATITUDO means "the condition of blessedness." Like many of Dykes's…

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Timeline

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The Cyber Hymnal #1470
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Instances

Instances (1 - 86 of 86)

A Church of England Hymn Book #261

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A Hymnal and Service Book for Sunday Schools, Day Schools, Guilds, Brotherhoods, etc. #297

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A Manual of Worship #44

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Carmina Sanctorum, a selection of hymns and songs of praise with tunes #490

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Carmina Sanctorum #490

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Children's Hymns with Tunes #111a

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Christian Praise #414

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Church Hymns and Tunes #399

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Church Hymns #396

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Evangelical Hymnal #293

Gloria in Excelsis #d153

Gloria in Excelsis #d92

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Hymn Book of the United Evangelical Church #293

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Hymn-Book of the Evangelical Association #499

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Hymnal of the Methodist Episcopal Church #614

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Hymnal of the Methodist Episcopal Church #614

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Hymni Ecclesiae #292

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Hymns and Songs of Praise for Public and Social Worship #779

Hymns and Tunes for Children of the Church #d50

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Hymns for the Church #43

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Hymns of the Church #406

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Hymns of the Faith with Psalms #343

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Hymns of the Faith #462

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Hymns of the Kingdom of God #228

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In Excelsis #586a

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In Excelsis #586b

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In Excelsis #a586a

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In Excelsis #a586b

Inter-Church Hymnal #d86

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Many Voices; or, Carmina Sanctorum, Evangelistic Edition with Tunes #349

Mennonite Brethren Church Hymnal #57

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Offices of Worship and Hymns #1457

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Pilgrim Songs (Number Two) #176

Sacred Songs for Church and Home #d115

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Select Songs for the Singing Service #105

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Select Songs for the Sunday School #105

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Songs for the Lord's House #290

Songs of Christian Praise with Music #d134

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Songs of Praise and Prayer #74

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Songs of Praise and Prayer #74

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Songs of Worship #149

Sunday School Hymnal #d90

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Sursum Corda #397

The American Hymnal #d128

The American Hymnal for Chapel Service #d85

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The American Hymnal for Chapel Service #259

The Book of Praise #d78

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The Chapel Hymnal #263

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The Chapel Hymnal #263

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The Children's Hymn Book #195

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The Christian Hymn Book #773

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The Christian Hymnal #263

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The Church Hymnary #458

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The Church Hymnary #811

The Church-Book #d93

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The Clifton Chapel Collection of "Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs" #910

The Covenant Hymnal, authorized by the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant of America #d72

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The Cyber Hymnal #1470

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The Eclectic Sabbath School Hymn Book #165

The Evangelical Hymn and Tune Book #d165

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The Evangelical Hymnal with Tunes #326

The Haverford School Hymnal #d69

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The Haverford School Hymnal #263

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The Hymnal #499a

The Hymnal of the Evangelical Mission Covenant Church of America #d109

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The Hymnal #519

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The Hymnal #499

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The Message in Song #153

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The New Laudes Domini #754

The People's Praise Book or Carmina Sanctorum #d148

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The Pilgrim Hymnal #233

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The Pilgrim Hymnal #310

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The Reformed Church Hymnal #428

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The Sanctuary Hymnal, published by Order of the General Conference of the United Brethren in Christ #330

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The School Hymnary #127

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The Sunday School Hymnal #120a

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The Sunday-School Hymnal and Service Book (Ed. A) #545

The Sunlight of Song #d12

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The Westminster Abbey Hymn-Book #379

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Victorian Hymns #36

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Voices of Praise #305

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Worship in Song #417

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Worship Song #372

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Y.P.S.C.E. Hymns of Christian Endeavor #100

Exclude 85 pre-1979 instances
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