First Line: | Almighty God, eternal Lord, Thy gracious power |
Language: | English |
Copyright: | Public Domain |
Almighty God, Eternal Lord. [Before a Sermon.] A cento mainly from hymns by C. Wesley as given in the Wesleyan Hymn Book 1780. The first stanza is from "Come, O Thou all victorious Lord," stanza i., the 2nd, from "Thou Son of God, Whose flaming eyes," stanza v., the 4th, from "Father of all in whom alone;" and the 3rd and 5th, possibly by the compiler. As the cento has not been traced to an earlier date than Cotterill's Selection, 1805, No. 71, it was probably compiled by Cotterill from the Wesleyan Hymn Book. To modern collections in Great Britain it is almost entirely unknown, but its use in America is somewhat extensive. The concluding line, "And faith be lost in sight," anticipated Dr. Neale's "Till hope be lost in sight," in Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1875, No. 226, st. iv., and other hymnals. The history of the hymns from which this cento is compiled may be found under their respective first lines.
-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)