Author of Faith, Eternal Word

Verse 1
Author of faith, eternal word,
Whose Spirit breathes the active flame,
Faith, like its Finisher and Lord,
To day, as yesterday the same;

Verse 2
To thee our humble hearts aspire,
And ask the gift unspeakable:
Increase in us the kindled fire,
In us the work of faith fulfil.

Verse 3
By faith we know thee strong to save,
(Save us, a present Saviour thou!)
Whate’er we hope, by faith we have,
Future and past subsisting now.

Verse 4
To him that in thy name believes,
Eternal life with thee is given,
Into himself he all receives,
Pardon, and happiness, and heaven.

Verse 5
The things unknown to feeble sense,
Unseen by reason’s glimm’ring ray,
With strong, commanding evidence
Their heavenly origine display.

Verse 6
Faith lends its realizing light,
The clouds disperse, the shadows fly,
Th’ invisible appears in sight,
And God is seen by mortal eye.

Hymnal/Album: This is the original version of the hymn as first introduced as a standalone pamphlet, "Life of Faith," on May 24, 1940. Originally titled: “The Life of Faith, Exemplified in the Eleventh Chapter of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews.” First published in a hymnal in Hymns and Sacred Poems (1740), published by John and Charles Wesley (London: William Strahan, 1740). Published in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Collected and Arranged by G. Osborn, Vol. 1 (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1868), page 209.
Publishing: Public Domain