Father, before Thy throne of light

Representative Text

1. Father, before Thy throne of light
The guardian angels bend,
And ever in Thy presence bright
Their psalms adoring blend;
And casting down each golden crown,
Beside the crystal sea,
With voice and lyre, in happy quire,
Hymn glory, Lord, to Thee.

2. And as the rainbow luster falls
Athwart their glowing wings,
While seraph unto seraph calls,
And each Thy goodness sings;
So may we feel, as low we kneel
To pray Thee for Thy grace,
That Thou art here for all who fear
The brightness of Thy face.

3. Here, where the angels see us come
To worship day by day,
Teach us to seek our heav’nly home,
And love Thee e’en as they;
Teach us to raise our notes of praise,
With them Thy love to own,
That childhood’s flower and manhood’s power
Be Thine, and Thine alone.

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #1493

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Author: Frederick W. Farrar

Farrar, Frederic William, D.D., son of the Rev. Charles Penhorn Farrar, sometime a missionary in India, and late Rector of Sidcup, Kent. He was born at Bombay, Aug. 7th, 1831; and educated at King William's College, Isle of Man, and at King's College, London. In 1850 he obtained a classical exhibition, and in 1852 a scholarship at the University of London, whence, after taking the degree of B.A., he passed to Trinity College, Cambridge. There, in 1852, he took (with other prizes) the Chancellor's Prize in English verse, and graduated in first-class classical honours in 1854. In the same year he entered Holy Orders, and was subsequently for some time an assistant master at Harrow School. In 1871 he was appointed to the head mastership of Mar… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	Father, before Thy throne of light
Author:	Frederick W. Farrar (1856)
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Father, before Thy throne of light. F. W. Farrar. [St. Michael and All Angels.] Written for the Anniversary of the Dedication of Marlborough College Chapel, 1855, the author being at that time Assistant Master of the College under Dr. Cotton. In 1856 it was included in the Marlborough College Hymn Book; and again in the revised edition of the same collection in 1869, No. 106. From the latter it passed into the Savoy Chapel Appendix to the Hymnary (Chapel Royal), the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871, No. 184, the Hymnal Companion, 1876, and many other collections. It is admirably suited for daily use in public schools.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Notes

Father, before Thy throne of light. F. W. Farrar. [St. Michael and All Angels.] Written for the Anniversary of the Dedication of Marlborough College Chapel, 1855, the author being at that time Assistant Master of the College under Dr. Cotton. In 1856 it was included in the Marlborough College Hymn Book; and again in the revised edition of the same collection in 1869, No. 106. From the latter it passed into the Savoy Chapel Appendix to the Hymnary (Chapel Royal), the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Church Hymns, 1871, No. 184, the Hymnal Companion, 1876, and many other collections. It is admirably suited for daily use in public schools.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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