Traditional: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

Fatherhood and Brotherhood

Traditional

“Fatherhood and Brotherhood” as printed in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920).

Traditional: Collected Lyrics Text 378 1920 · historical text
Public domainHymnSacred song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from The Army and Navy Hymnal, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

I WILL make mention of the loving kindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord.

According to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us,

And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them

According to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.

For he said, Surely, they are my people, children that will not deal falsely: so he was their Saviour.

Verse 2

In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them:

In his love and in his pity he redeemed them;

And he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

For thou art our Father, though Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us;

Thou, O Lord, art our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name.

Verse 3

BEHOLD what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,

That we should be called children of God;

Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be.

We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him;

For we shall see him even as he is.

And every one that hath this hope set on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil:

Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

For this is the message which ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another:

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.

He that loveth not abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer;

And ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need,

And shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him?

My little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth.

Verse 4

And this is his commandment,

That we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him.

And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

Credits

Written by Traditional

Traditional words. Historical text published in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920), “Fatherhood and Brotherhood”

The 1920 published edition is in the public domain in the United States (pre-1931 publication). Entries whose credited author died more than 70 years ago are also in the public domain in life-plus-70 jurisdictions; traditional and anonymous entries are public domain. Pages whose scan quality is below the proofread threshold are held for review.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-26. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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