Father of mercies, heavenly Friend

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Father of mercies, heavenly Friend

Author: Oliver Wendell Holmes
Tune: DUNDEE (Ravenscroft)
Published in 5 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, Noteworthy Composer
Audio files: MIDI

Piano/Organ
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Representative Text

1 Father of mercies, heavenly Friend,
We seek Thy gracious throne;
To Thee our faltering prayers ascend,
Our fainting hearts are known!

2 From blasts that chill, from suns that smite,
From every plague that harms;
In camp and march, in siege and fight,
Protect our men-at-arms!

3 Though from our darkened lives they take
What makes our life most dear,
We yield them for their country’s sake
With no relenting tear.

4 Our blood their flowing veins will shed,
Their wounds our breasts will share;
Oh, save us from the woes we dread,
Or grant us strength to bear!

5 Let each unhallowed cause that brings
The stern destroyer cease,
The flaming angel fold his wings,
And seraphs whisper, "Peace!"

6 Thine are the scepter and the sword,
Stretch forth Thy mighty hand—
Reign Thou our kingless nation’s Lord
Rule Thou our throneless land!

Source: The Cyber Hymnal #12572

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Author: Oliver Wendell Holmes

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, M.D, LL.D., son of the Rev. Abiel Holmes, D.D. of Cambridge, U.S.A., was born at Cambridge, Aug. 29, 1809, and educated at Harvard, where he graduated in 1829. After practising for some time in Boston, he was elected in 1847 to the chair of Anatomy, in Harvard. His writings in prose and verse are well known and widely circulated. They excel in humour and pathos. Although not strictly speaking a hymnwriter, a few of his hymns are in extensive use, and include:— 1. Father of mercies, heavenly Friend. Prayer during war. 2. Lord of all being, throned afar. God's Omnipresence. This is a hymn of great merit. It is dated 1848. 3. 0 Lord of hosts, Almighty King. Soldiers’ Hymn. Dated 1861. 4. 0 Love… Go to person page >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	Father of mercies, heavenly Friend
Author:	Oliver Wendell Holmes
Meter:	8.6.8.6
Copyright:	Public Domain

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Tune

DUNDEE (Ravenscroft)

DUNDEE first appeared in the 1615 edition of the Scottish Psalter published in Edinburgh by Andro Hart. Called a "French" tune (thus it also goes by the name of FRENCH), DUNDEE was one of that hymnal's twelve "common tunes"; that is, it was not associated with a specific psalm. In the Psalter Hymnal…

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