Great God, and wilt Thou condescend

Representative Text

Great God! and wilt Thou condescend
To be my Father and my Friend?
I but a child,—and Thou so high,
The Lord of earth and air and sky!

Art Thou my Father?—Let me be
A meek, obedient child to Thee;
And try, in word and deed and thought,
To serve and please Thee as I ought.

Art Thou my Father?—I’ll depend
Upon the care of such a friend;
And only wish to do and be
Whatever seemeth good to Thee.

Art Thou my Father?—Then, at last,
When all my days on earth are past,
Send down, and take me, in Thy love,
To be Thy better child above.



Source: A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion (15th ed.) #448

Author: Ann Taylor Gilbert

Gilbert, Ann, nèe Taylor, the elder of the two sisters, and daughter of Isaac Taylor, was born at London, Jan. 30, 1782, her father at that time being engaged in London as an engraver. Subsequently her father became a Congregational Minister, and resided, first at Colchester and then at Ongar. In 1813 she was married to the Rev. Joseph Gilbert, Classical and Mathematical Tutor at the Congregational College, Masborough, near Rotherham, Yorkshire. From Masborough they passed to Hull, and then to Nottingham, where Mr. Gilbert died in 1852. Mrs. Gilbert remained at Nottingham, and died there Dec. 20, 1866. In addition to contributing hymns to the joint works of herself and her sister Jane, a few were given in Collyer's Collection, 1812, signed… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Great God, and wilt Thou condescend
Author: Ann Taylor Gilbert
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Great God, and wilt Thou condescend? Ann Gilbert. [To God the Father.] First appeared in A. & J. Taylor's Hymns for Infant Minds, 1810, No. 5, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines (edition 1886, p. 10). It is entitled, "Our Father, which art in heaven." For many years it was received as the production of Jane Taylor; but now, on the authority of Mrs. Gilbert's Memorials, it is rightly assigned to the latter. It is of this hymn that her biographer writes:—

"It may not be too much to say that the manner of the Divine Teacher has been seldom more nearly approached. Such might have been the little child whom 'He set in the midst.' In such words might the most mature Christian address his Father in heaven." Memorials, 1874, vol. i. p. 224.

This is the most popular of Mrs. Gilbert's hymns, and is in extensive use in all English-speaking countries.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Tune

MAINZER


HOLLEY


HAMBURG

Lowell Mason (PHH 96) composed HAMBURG (named after the German city) in 1824. The tune was published in the 1825 edition of Mason's Handel and Haydn Society Collection of Church Music. Mason indicated that the tune was based on a chant in the first Gregorian tone. HAMBURG is a very simple tune with…

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Instances

Instances (1 - 100 of 106)
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A Book of Hymns and Tunes #64

Text

A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion (15th ed.) #448

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A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion. (10th ed.) #448

A Church of England Hymn Book #612

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A Manual of Devotion and Hymns for the House of Refuge, City of New York #82

A Selection of Psalms and Hymns #d14

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A Selection of Psalms and Hymns, for the use of Sunday Schools #13

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African Methodist Episcopal hymn and tune book #421b

Boston Sunday School Hymn Book. 5th ed. #d45

Canadian Sabbath-School Hymn Book #d80

Children's Hymnal #84

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Children's Praise #42

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Choice Hymns #259

Church Hymnal, Third Edition #615

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Church Hymns #623

Grammar School Hymn Book #d89

Heart and Voice #d89

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Heart and Voice #289

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Hymn and Tune Book, for the Church and the Home #721

Hymn Book of the Holiness Movement Church #d145

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Hymn, Tune, and Service Book for Sunday Schools #13

Hymnal for Sunday School and Social Worship #d66

Hymns and Tunes for the Sunday School, the Congregation and the Home #d64

Hymns for Children and Young Persons #d160

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Hymns for Children, Selected and Altered #31

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Hymns for Christian Devotion #763

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Hymns for Christian Devotion #763

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Hymns for First-Day Schools #105

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Hymns for First-Day Schools (Rev. and Enl.) #105

Hymns for Infant Minds. Armstrong's 2nd ed. #d14

Hymns for Schools and Families #d161

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Hymns for Schools and Families, Specailly Designed for the Children of the Church #357

Hymns for Schools, with Supplement #25

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Hymns for Schools #22

Hymns for Sunday School Worship #d26

Hymns for Sunday Schools, Selected from Various Authoors #d73

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Hymns for Sunday Schools, Youth and Children #245

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Hymns for Sunday Schools, Youth, and Children #245

Hymns for Sunday Schools. 2nd ed. #d20

Hymns, Selected and Original, for Sunday Schools of the Evangelical Lutheran Church #d119

Jewel Selections #d53

Juvenile Psalmody. Second ed. #d16

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Melodies and Hymns for Divine Service in Appleton Chapel #a306

Methodist Hymn and Tune Book #d253

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Methodist Hymn-Book #827

Portsmouth Sunday School Hymn Book #d48

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Praise and Thanks #B2-22

Sacred Melodies #d93

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Salvation Army Songs #723

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Selection of Hymns for the Sunday School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church #14

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Selection of Hymns for the Sunday School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church #20

Songs of Joy #d34

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Songs of Praise #76

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The African Methodist Episcopal Hymn and Tune Book #421b

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The American Baptist Sabbath-School Hymn-Book #14

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The Baptist Hymnal, for Use in the Church and Home #569a

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The Baptist Hymnal, for Use in the Church and Home #569b

The Baptist Hymnal #569

The Baptist Hymnal. Shaped notes ed. #d181

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The Baptist Psalmody #1054

The Baptist Sabbath School Hymn Book #d117

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The Baptist Standard Hymnal #543

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The Boston Sunday School Hymn Book #30

The Canadian Hymnal #274

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The Canadian Hymnal #274

The Canadian Hymnal #274

The Chapel Hymn Book (4th ed.) #d131

The Chapel Hymn Book. 5th ed. #d127

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The Child's Song Book #53

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The Children's Hymn Book #250

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The Christian Melodist #469

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The Church Hymnary #520

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #9424

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The Disciples' Hymn Book #130

The Dominion Hymnal #125

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The Evangelical Hymnal with Tunes #556

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The Golden Hymn Book #188

The Good Child's Little Hymn Book #d2

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The Gospel Psalmist #848

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The Infant-School Hymn-Book #37

The National Baptist Hymn Book #d173

The National Baptist Hymn Book #ad173

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The National Baptist Hymnal #539

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The New Canadian Hymnal #433

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The New Canadian Hymnal #433

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The New England Sabbath School Minstrel #30

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The Presbyterian Book of Praise #516

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The Presbyterian Book of Praise #516

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The Sabbath School Harp #68

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The Sabbath School Lute #25

The Sabbath School Lyre #d45

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The Sabbath School Lyre #110

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The Sabbath School #123

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The School Hymn-Book #133

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The Scottish Hymnal #426

The Song Book of the Salvation Army #d228

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The Spirit of Praise #105

The Sunday School Choir and Superintendent's Assistant #d46

Pages

Exclude 104 pre-1979 instances
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