Father of Heaven, Whose Love Profound
- Metre
- 8.8.8.8 (L.M.)
- Written
- 1805
- Copyright
- Public domain
Lyrics
Father of heaven, whose love profound
a ransom for our souls hath found,
before thy throne we sinners bend,
to us thy pardoning love extend.
Almighty Son, incarnate Word,
our Prophet, Priest, Redeemer, Lord,
before thy throne we sinners bend,
to us thy saving grace extend.
Eternal Spirit, by whose breath
the soul is raised from sin and death,
before thy throne we sinners bend,
to us thy quickening power extend.
Thrice Holy! Father, Spirit, Son;
mysterious Godhead, Three in One,
before thy throne we sinners bend,
grace, pardon, life to us extend.
History
"Father of heaven, whose love profound" is a Trinitarian hymn by Edward Cooper, who was rector of Hamstall-Ridware (from 1799) and of Yoxall (from 1809), both in Staffordshire, until his death in 1833. It first appeared in 1805 in the Uttoxeter Selection.
The hymn's authorship was for a long time uncertain. It was Cooper's son, the Revd Henry Gisborne Cooper, who attributed it to his father. From the Uttoxeter Selection the text passed into the Ashbourne Collection (1808), Cooper's own Selection (Lichfield, 1811) and Cotterill's Selection (1810-1820), and from there into most English-language hymnals. Julian describes it as based on the Litany, and notes that the doxology found in some hymnals, as in Hymns Ancient and Modern, was a later addition.
The text was also reworked by others. Several hymnals of the 1850s altered its opening line, and Harriett Auber rewrote the third and fourth lines of each stanza in 1829 to turn it into a song of praise, in her Spirit of the Psalms; that adaptation was printed in Dr Dale's English Hymn Book (1874).
The words are in long metre (8.8.8.8). RIVAULX, a tune by John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876), is one tune for this text; in a sample of hymnal entries, other tunes include ST. CROSS, ROCKINGHAM and SONG 5. The text is recorded in some 249 hymnals.
Performance
This recording is by St Martin's Voices and runs about 2 minutes 43 seconds. It sings four verses.
Sources: hymnary.org · St Martin's Voices recording and Words book
About St Martin's Voices
The recording on this page is sung by St Martin's Voices, the professional vocal ensemble based at St Martin-in-the-Fields, the church on Trafalgar Square in London. One of the UK's most versatile professional choirs, they sing for services, concerts and broadcasts — including on BBC radio and Classic FM — and have released a number of acclaimed recordings.
Their hymn recordings are made freely available to Anglican parishes through the Church of England's A Church Near You Resource Hub, produced by Andrew Earis, Director of Music at St Martin-in-the-Fields, in collaboration with the Royal School of Church Music.