63. Father and Friend, Thy light, thy love
John Bowring, 1792-1872
A hymn on the omnipresence of God who reigns as Lord of life and cares for His children.
For comments on John Bowring see [Hymn 55].
MUSIC. ILLA, a simple long-meter tune within easy compass of the voices, is by the American composer, Lowell Mason, 1792-1872, an exact contemporary of Bowring. Mason’s tunes were popular at first and then for a time they were frowned upon by some of the “highbrow” musicians but in late years are returning with new favor into the hymn books. Mason’s name appears 24 times in our collection.
For further comments on Mason see [Hymn 12].