Father of Mercies, in Thy Word

Father of mercies, in thy word

Author: Anne Steele (1760)
Published in 697 hymnals

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Full Text

1 Father of mercies, in thy word
What endless glory shines!
For ever be thy name adored
For these celestial lines.

2 Here, may the wretched sons of want
Exhaustless riches find;
Riches, above what earth can grant,
And lasting as the mind.

3 Here the fair tree of knowledge grows,
And yields a free repast,
Sublimer sweets that nature knows,
Invite the longing taste.

4 Here, the Redeemer's welcome voice
Spreads heavenly peace around;
And life, and everlasting joys
Attend the blissful sound.

5 O may these heavenly pages be
My ever dear delight;
And still new beauties may I see,
And still increasing light!

6 Divine instructor, gracious Lord,
Be Thou for ever near;
Teach me to love thy sacred word,
And view my Savior there.

The Hartford Selection of Hymns from the most approved authors, 1799

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Author: Anne Steele

Anne Steele was born at Broughton, Hampshire, in 1717. Her father was a timber merchant, and at the same time officiated as the lay pastor of the Baptist Society at Broughton. Her mother died when she was 3. At the age of 19 she became an invalid after injuring her hip. At the age of 21 she was engaged to be married but her fiance drowned the day of the wedding. On the occasion of his death she wrote the hymn "When I survey life's varied scenes." After the death of her fiance she assisted her father with his ministry and remained single. Despite her sufferings she maintained a cheerful attitude. She published a book of poetry "Poems on subjects chiefly devotional" in 1760 under the pseudonym "Theodosia." The remaining works were published… Go to person page >

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Text Information

First Line: Father of mercies, in thy word
Title: Father of Mercies, in Thy Word
Author: Anne Steele (1760)
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Language: English
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Notes

Father of mercies, in Thy word. Anne Steele. [Holy Scripture.] First published in her Poems on Subjects chiefly Devotional, 1760, vol. i. p. 58, in 12 stanzas of 4 lines, repeated in the enlarged edition, 1780, and in Sedgwick's reprint of her Hymns, 1863, p. 36. In 1769, Ash & Evans gave a selection of 6 stanzas in their Bristol Baptist Collection, No. 79, and from this arrangement mainly the well-known hymn is taken. It is in extensive use in Great Britain and America, and is one of the most popular of Miss Steele's hymns.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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Tune

BEATITUDO

Composed by John B. Dykes (PHH 147), BEATITUDO was published in the revised edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern (1875), where it was set to Isaac Watts' "How Bright Those Glorious Spirits Shine." Originally a word coined by Cicero, BEATITUDO means "the condition of blessedness." Like many of Dykes's…

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ST. AGNES (Dykes)

John B. Dykes (PHH 147) composed ST. AGNES for [Jesus the Very Thought of Thee]. Dykes named the tune after a young Roman Christian woman who was martyred in A.D. 304 during the reign of Diocletian. St. Agnes was sentenced to death for refusing to marry a nobleman to whom she said, "I am already eng…

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TALLIS' ORDINAL


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Instances

Instances (5)TextImageAudioScore
Church Family Worship #601
Hymns Ancient & Modern, New Standard Edition #167
Hymns Ancient & Modern, New Standard Edition #357
Sing Glory: Hymns, Psalms and Songs for a New Century #224
Trinity Hymnal #144Text
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