Faith of Our Fathers
Frederick W. Faber
(1814-1863)

Bookmark and Share

Faith of our fathers, living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whenever we hear that glorious Word!

Chorus:

Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.

Faith of our fathers, we will strive
To win all nations unto Thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
We all shall then be truly free.

Faith of our fathers, we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife;
And preach Thee, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life.

 

 

Note: In fairness to Faber, it needs to be noted that the version of this hymn we usually sing could be said to be a version “sanitized” by Protestants for they objected to and extirpated the unscriptural third verse from the original.  But Faber, after all, was a Catholic priest, seeking to provide (among other things) inspiring, worshipful hymns to his flock.  In keeping with his understanding of faith, his third verse read as follows:

Faith of our fathers, Mary’s prayers
Shall win our country back to Thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
England shall then indeed be free.

The original basis of the hymn was to remember the martyrdom and faith of Catholics who were killed during the reign of King Henry VIII.  Yet removing the third verse has managed to make this hymn more universal in scope, applicable for all Christians through all of Christian history.

 

Return to Top

 

You Can Help…

by making tax-de­duct­ible gifts to this ministry using PayPal’s secure services.

Jim’s Itinerary

14-20 May: Pastors’ train­ing conference, Guate­mala.
25 Jul-3 Aug: Pastors’ train­ing conferences in Costa Rica with Lend­A­Hand Mission Teams.

New & Featured

Poetry: Enjoy a famous Charles Wesley classic: Come, Sinners to the Gospel Feast!
If 'God So Loved the World,' Why Am I Not Allowed To?
Audio: Kernels of Wheat #16: If “God So Loved the World,” Why Am I Not Allowed To?
Walking into Maturity
Audio: Walking into Ma­tu­ri­ty is the topic of Kernels of Wheat #15.
Article: Isaiah Reid traces the path of spiritual growth through Ad­vance by Self-De­ni­al.
Waiting on the Lord
Audio: Waiting on the Lord is the Church’s only path to revival. Check out Grains from Gutteridge 7.
A New Gift from Jesus
Audio: Are you walking in A New Gift from Jesus?  Kernels of Wheat pod­cast #14.
The Love Meter
Audio: How do you rate on God's Love Meter?  Hear Kernels of Wheat podcast #13.
Poetry: Frances Ridley Havergal offers up a New Year’s prayer worth praying in Another Year Is Dawning!
Are You Fulfilling Bible Prophecy?
Audio: Kernels of Wheat Pod­cast #12, Are You Fulfilling Bible Pro­phe­cy?  Well, are you?
Article: Robert Murray McCheyne promotes systematic Scripture reading in Daily Bread: Reading Through the Word of God in a Year.
Article: Isaiah Reid explains how we get to Life Through Death.