"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (Gen. 1:3)

A hymn which praises God for His light, both the physical light by which we see and the spiritual light of His revelation is "Thou, Whose Almighty Word." The text was written by John Marriott, who was born at Cottsebach, near Lutterworth, England, on Sept. 11, 1780, the son of R. Marriott who was a minister at Cottsebach. After being educated at Rugby and at Christ Church, Oxford, he became a minister in the Church of England in 1804, and for four years he was tutor at Dalkeith Palace to George Henry, Lord Scott, where he became a close friend of the author Sir Walter Scott. In recognition of this, the Duke of Buccleugh invited him to be minister at Church Lawford in Warwickshire, a position which he held for the rest of his life. However, the health of his Marriott’s wife preevented his living in Warwickshire, and he resided in Devonshire near the sea, occasionally travelling to Church Lawford to preach, but also serving various churches near Devon.

Although Marriot produced several hymns, none of these were published, except a few with his permission, before his death at Broadclyst near Exeter, England, on Mar. 31, 1825. The date given for "Thou, Whose Almighty Word" is 1813. Samuel W. Duffield, in his English Hymns, says that Marriott’s text was first published in Dr. Raffle’s Collection in 1816. It was quoted by Thomas Mortimer, lecturer of St. Olave’s in Southward, at a meeting of the London Missionary Society on May 12, 1825, and printed in June of that year in the Evangelical Magazine. The original poem began "Thou, Whose Eternal Word." Several tunes have been used with this hymn. The one (Trinity, Braine, or Braun) found in our books is sometimes attributed to W. R. Braine. However, no information is available on a composer of this name.

Although Marriot produced several hymns, none of these were published, except a few with his permission, before his death at Broadclyst near Exeter, England, on Mar. 31, 1825. The date given for "Thou, Whose Almighty Word" is 1813. Samuel W. Duffield, in his English Hymns, says that Marriott’s text was first published in Dr. Raffle’s Collection in 1816. It was quoted by Thomas Mortimer, lecturer of St. Olave’s in Southward, at a meeting of the London Missionary Society on May 12, 1825, and printed in June of that year in the Evangelical Magazine. The original poem began "Thou, Whose Eternal Word." Several tunes have been used with this hymn. The one (Trinity, Braine, or Braun) found in our books is sometimes attributed to W. R. Braine. However, no information is available on a composer of this name.

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