Who wrote the hymn 'Dear Lord and Father of Mankind'?
The popular hymn 'Dear Lord and Father of Mankind' was adapted from Quaker John Greenleaf Whittier's poem 'The Brewing of Soma' (which he wrote in 1872) by Garrett Horder and published in his 1884 Congregational Hymns.
In the UK it is usually sung to the tune 'Repton'. composed by Hubert Parry, while in the US it is mostly sung to the tune 'Rest' by Frederick Charles Maker.
What are the lyrics to 'Dear Lord and Father of Mankind'?
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.
In simple trust like theirs who heard
Beside the Syrian sea
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow Thee.
O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
The silence of eternity
Interpreted by love!
With that deep hush subduing all
Our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of Thy call,
As noiseless let Thy blessing fall
As fell Thy manna down.
Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm.