Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us. James Edmeston* (1791-1867).
Published in Edmeston’s Sacred Lyrics, Second Series (1821), entitled ‘Hymn, Written for the Children of the London Orphan Asylum.’ Edmeston took a great interest in the welfare of orphaned children, and it is significant that the metaphors he uses (stanza 1 line 3) to describe God’s protection are those that might be used of an orphanage supervisor: ‘Guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us’. If Charles Dickens is to be believed, children were often cruelly used and badly fed in orphanages: Oliver Twist is dated 1837-38, not long after Edmeston’s hymn. The children of that time clearly needed institutions that had benevolent...
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MLA style (see MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd Ed.)
. "Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press. Web. 16 Jul. 2025.<
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/l/lead-us,-heavenly-father,-lead-us>.
Chicago style (see The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.)
. "Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, accessed July 16, 2025,
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/l/lead-us,-heavenly-father,-lead-us.