We pray thee, heavenly Father

We pray thee, heavenly Father. Vincent Stuckey Stratton Coles* (1845-1929). According to JJ, this was ‘written for a Communicants’ class’ (p. 242). In a letter to W.H. Frere, dated 30 Dec 1909, Coles said that it was written before his ordination in 1869 (see Maurice Frost, Historical Companion to Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1962, p. 351). The two statements are not necessarily contradictory. It was published in the SPCK Church Hymns (1871) and in the Second Edition of A&M (1875). It is a hymn of preparation for Holy Communion with a strong Trinitarian structure, beginning with a paraphrase of the Collect for Purity: We pray Thee, heavenly Father,,  To hear us in Thy love,And pour upon...