Father of all! we bow to Thee

Representative Text

1 Father of all! we bow to thee,
who dwell’st in heav’n ador'd;
but present still through all thy works,
the universal Lord.
2 For ever hallow'd be thy name
by all beneath the skies;
and may thy kingdom still advance,
till grace to glory rise.

3 A grateful homage may we yield,
with hearts resign'd to thee;
and as in heav’n thy will is done,
on earth so let it be.
4 From day to day we humbly own
the hand that feeds us still:
give us our bread, and teach to rest
contented in thy will.

5 Our sins before thee we confess;
O may they be forgiven!
As we to others mercy show,
we mercy beg from Heav’n.
6 Still let thy grace our life direct;
from evil guard our way;
and in temptation’s fatal path
permit us not to stray.

7 For thine the pow’r, the kingdom thine;
all glory’s due to thee:
thine from eternity they were,
and thine shall ever be.


Source: The Irish Presbyterian Hymbook #R33

Author: Hugh Blair

Blair, Hugh, D.D., eldest son of John Blair, merchant. Edinburgh, was born at Edinburgh, April 7, 1718. In 1730 he entered the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated M.A. in 1739. In 1742 he was ordained parish minister of Collessie, in Fife, became, in 1743, second minister of the Canongate, Edinburgh, in 1754 minister of Lady Yester's, and in 1758 joint minister of the High Church (now styled St. Giles's Cathedral). In 1762, while still retaining his pastoral charge, he was appointed the first Professor of Rhetoric in the University of Edinburgh—a chair founded for him. He received the degree of D.D. from the University of St. Andrews, in 1757. He died in Edinburgh, Dec. 27, 1800. In 1744 Dr. Blair was appointed a member of the C… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Father of all! we bow to Thee
Author: Hugh Blair
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Source: Scottish Paraphrases - The Scottish Psalter (Oxford University Press, 1929)
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Father of all! we bow to Thee. Hugh Blair?* [The Lord's Prayer.] First appeared as No. 10 in the Draft Scottish Translations and Paraphrases, 1745, as a version of Matthew vi. 9-14, in 7 stanzas of 4 lines. In the Draft of 1781 it is No. 33 slightly altered, and in the public worship edition issued in that year by the Church of Scotland, and still in use, stanza ii. and stanza vi. line 1, were rewritten. In the markings by the eldest daughter of W. Cameron (q.v.) ascribed to Blair. The revised text of 1781 has been included in the English Presbyterian Psalms & Hymns, 1867, No. 133; in Worcester's Select Hymns, Boston, U.S., 1835, No. 133; the American Presbyterian Psalms & Hymns, 1843, No. 307, and a few other modern hymnals. A considerably altered form, reduced to 6 stanzas, and beginning, "Father of all! to Thee we bow," is No. 21 in Cotterill’s Selection, 1819. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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The Irish Presbyterian Hymbook #R33

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