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)