Son of God, eternal Word

Author: Christopher Wordsworth

Christopher Wordsworth--nephew of the great lake-poet, William Wordsworth--was born in 1807. He was educated at Winchester, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A., with high honours, in 1830; M.A. in 1833; D.D. in 1839. He was elected Fellow of his College in 1830, and public orator of the University in 1836; received Priest's Orders in 1835; head master of Harrow School in 1836; Canon of Westminster Abbey in 1844; Hulsean Lecturer at Cambridge in 1847-48; Vicar of Stanford-in-the-Vale, Berks, in 1850; Archdeacon of Westminster, in 1865; Bishop of Lincoln, in 1868. His writings are numerous, and some of them very valuable. Most of his works are in prose. His "Holy Year; or, Hymns for Sundays, Holidays, and other occ… Go to person page >

Son of God, Eternal Word. Bishop C. Wordsworth of Lincoln. [Morning.] This, together with Bishop Wordsworth's Evening Hymn, "the day is gently sinking to a close," were printed separately from his Holy Year, and were pasted into unsold copies of the 3rd edition of that work, in 1863. In 1864 they were given as the opening hymns of the Holy Year, and have since come into somewhat general use in Great Britain and America.

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)