Scripture Verse

Thou, O Lord, art our Father…Thy name is from everlasting. Isaiah 63:16

Introduction

portrait
Ernest Dugmore (1843–1925)

Words: Er­nest E. Dug­more, Hymns for Ado­ra­tion for Church Use 1900.

Music: Old 50th The Whole Book of Psalmes Stern­hold & Hop­kins, 1562 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Lyrics

Almighty Fa­ther, un­orig­in­ate,
Whom no man hath seen ev­er, nor can see;
Who reign­est blest and on­ly po­ten­tate,
Light un­ap­proach­able en­circ­ling Thee:
Almighty Fa­ther, hal­lowed be Thy name;
Who ev­er art, un­change­ably the same.

Thou lov­est us, else had we ne­ver been:
Before we were, in ag­es long ago,
Thy love had us and all our wants fore­seen,
Creating us that we Thy love might know,
Yea, Fa­ther, Thou, in whom we live and move,
Hast loved us with an ev­er­last­ing love.

Thou mad­est man im­mor­tal at the first,
An im­age of Thine own eter­ni­ty;
And when he fell from life, through sin ac­cursed,
And lost his right to the life giv­ing tree,
Thy love, un­con­quered would to him re­store
His life en­no­bled and for­ev­er­more.

Such was Thy love, Thou didst not ev­en spare
Thy Best-be­loved, but gav’st Him for us all;
To live that hu­man life be­yond com­pare,
And dy­ing, by His death re­trieve our fall.
In Him Thy love un­bound­ed we be­hold,
For, giv­ing Him, Thou canst not aught with­hold.

Thou know­est what we are, how frail and blind,
Thou still re­mem­ber­est that we are but dust:
Like as a fa­ther pi­ti­eth, Thou art kind,
Thy jus­tice kind­ness, and Thy kind­ness just.
Then hear Thy child­ren’s pray­er
From Heav’n Thy throne;
Father, Thy king­dom come; Thy will be done.