Hymn Reflection: God, Our Father, We Adore Thee
“God, Our Father, We Adore Thee” is a Trinitarian hymn found in twenty one hymnals, including the 1991 and 2008 editions of the Baptist Hymnal. Written by George W. Frazer and with an additional stanza by Alfred S. Loizeaux, this hymn is an exuberant expression of adoration and praise to the triune God.
The Author
George W. Frazer, author of the first, second, and fourth stanzas published a total of sixteen hymns in his lifetime. Born in Ireland in 1840 as the son of a police investigator, Frazer later began working in the banking industry. At about age twenty, he was urged by his brother to hear the evangelist Grattan Guinnes in Dublin. Because of the crowds attending the meeting, Frazer and his brother were unable to enter the hall so they climbed the building to perch in an open window where they heard the message of the gospel. Frazer later commented:
The Saviour calls, to Him I go
As guilty, lost undone,
Life and forgiveness from Him now flow,
God’s well-beloved Son.
As a result of this evangelistic meeting and his subsequent conversion, Frazer eventually left his employment at the bank to commit his full attention to evangelism. He lived to age 56, and was greatly admired for his nearness and devotion to God.
The Tune
Almost exclusively “God, Our Father, We Adore Thee” has been associated with the tune BEECHER. Composed by John Zundel in 1870, BEECHER was first published in Zundel’s Christian Heart Songs in 1870, where it was wed to “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” by Charles Wesley. Zundel named the tune for his pastor, Henry Ward Beecher, but it is also known as ZUNDEL. The tune has been used primarily with the Wesley hymn, but others, such as the hymn from Frazer, employ it almost exclusively.
The Hymn
“God, Our Father, We Adore Thee,” first appeared in Hymns of Praise for the Young in 1882, and Hymns of Grace and Truth in 1903, and was subsequently published in nineteen other hymnals. Its original setting included only three stanzas: the first, second, and fourth stanzas. A third stanza centered on the work of the Holy Spirit appeared later and was written by Alfred S. Loizeaux (1877–1962). In its modern version with the full four stanzas, the hymn follows the traditional structure of a Trinitarian hymn in which stanza one focuses on God the Father, stanza two on God the Son, stanza three on the Holy Spirit, and is completed by stanza four which offers a doxology of praise to the Trinity.
Analysis
Stanza One
God, our Father, we adore Thee!
We, Thy children, bless Thy name!
Chosen in the Christ before Thee,
We are “holy, without blame.”
We adore Thee! We adore Thee!
Abba’s praises we proclaim!
We adore Thee! We adore Thee!
Abba’s praises we proclaim!
Stanza one proclaims adoration to God the Father by those who are called and chosen to be His children. There is a sense of the adoptive nature Christians share that is spoken of in Romans:
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:14–15 ESV)
This sense of adopted sonship is found only in the connection that the believer has through Christ. It is only through the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary’s cross that the believer’s holiness and blamelessness was purchased, and in that purchase the Christian can then sing praise to Abba, Father. Frazer concludes this stanza with a repeated verse, or refrain in adoration and praise of the God the Father.
Stanza Two
Son Eternal, we adore Thee!
Lamb upon the throne on high!
Lamb of God, we bow before Thee,
Thou has brought Thy people night!
We adore Thee, we adore Thee!
Son of God, who came to die!
We adore Thee, we adore Thee!
Son of God, who came to die!
Stanza two begins with a clear statement of the eternal nature of Christ, and the need for believers to praise him. He then speaks of Christ on the throne as the Lamb of God. This imagery is best seen in Revelation as the elders are gathering around the throne:
saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
To receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
And honor and glory and blessing!”
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the se, and all that is in them saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
Be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:12–14 ESV)
Christ, the Lamb of God, has brought the believer into the throne room of God through his sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, and as a result, the believer can worship Triune God. This stanza again harkens back to the passage in Romans 8 as it speaks of the believer’s share in Christ’s glory through his suffering.
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:16–17 ESV)
Frazer concludes stanza two with a refrain proclaiming Christ’s sacrifice and the worshipers respone of adoration.
Stanza Three
Holy Spirit, we adore Thee!
Paraclete and heavenly guest!
Sent from God and from the Savior,
Thou has led us into rest.
We adore Thee! We adore Thee!
By Thy grace forever blest.
We adore Thee! We adore Thee!
By Thy grace forever blest.
This additional stanza written by Alfred S. Loizeaux directs the worshiper in adoration of the Holy Spirit. In the second verse, the author references the Paraclete and heavenly guest. Much like the term Ebenezer from another popular hymn, Paraclete is something that requires explanation to the layman in the pew. Paraclete, from the Greek παράκλητος, references the Holy Spirit and is usually translated as advocate or helper and appears in the New Testament only five times all in the writings of John, four times in his gospel (14:16, 14:26, 15:26, and 16:7) and once in his first epistle (2:1). The author also includes language of procession in that the Paraclete has been sent from God and from the Son, and leads the worshiper into rest.
Stanza Four
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Three in One! We give Thee praise!
For the riches we inherit,
Heart and voice to Thee we raise!
We adore Thee! We adore Thee!
Thee we bless through endless days!
We adore Thee! We adore Thee!
Thee we bless through endless days!
In the complete setting of all four stanzas, the last stanza is a doxological statement of praise for the Triune God: Father, Son, and Spirit. The author returns to the concept of the believer’s inheritance through their adoption as sons and daughters. Like the previous three stanzas, stanza four ends with a strong, repeated statement of praise for all time.
Evaluation
In its original setting, “God, Our Father, We Adore Thee” lacked a Trinitarian impact with the absence of the third stanza, containing only a passing reference to the Holy Spirit in the doxology of the fourth stanza. However, the inclusion of the third stanza completes the adoration of the Triune God. The tune is easily singable and the text conforms well to the tune. The recurring refrains of praise and adoration which conclude each stanza of the hymn direct the attention of the worshiper toward the praise of the one God in Three Persons.
References
“Alfred S Loizeaux.” https://hymnary.org/person/Loizeaux_A
Baptist Hymnal. Nashville, TN: Convention Press, 2008.
“George W Frazer.” https://hymnary.org/text/god_our_father_we_adore_thee#Author
hymntime.com (now The Cyber Hymnal)
