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Christ in Song 105

Thy Work Alone

Words: J. H. StocktonMusic: J. H. Stockton

Studio

1Not what these hands have done Can save this guilty soul;
Not what this toiling flesh has borne Can make my spirit whole;
Not what I feel or do Can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers and signs and tears Can bear sin's awful load.

2Thy work alone, O Christ, Can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, Can give me peace within;
Thy love to me, O God, Not mine, O Lord, to thee,
Can rid me of this dark unrest, And set my spirit free.

3I bless the Christ of God, I rest on love divine,
And with unfaltering lip and heart I call this Savior mine;
His cross dispels each doubt, I bury in his tomb
Each thought of unbelief and fear, Each lingering shade of gloom.

The verse

Meter
12.14.12.14
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 68% of beats fit
Rhyme
AABB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Not what these hands have done Can save this guilty soul;˘˘˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/12A
Not what this toiling flesh has borne Can make my spirit whole;˘˘˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/14A
Not what I feel or do Can give me peace with God;˘˘˘/˘˘˘/˘/˘/12B
Not all my prayers and signs and tears Can bear sin's awful load.˘/˘/˘/˘/˘///˘/14C

Verse 2

Thy work alone, O Christ, Can ease this weight of sin;//˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/12A
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, Can give me peace within;//˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/14A
Thy love to me, O God, Not mine, O Lord, to thee,//˘˘˘/˘/˘/˘/12B
Can rid me of this dark unrest, And set my spirit free.˘/˘˘˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/14B

Verse 3

I bless the Christ of God, I rest on love divine,˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/12A
And with unfaltering lip and heart I call this Savior mine;˘˘????/˘/˘/˘/˘/15A
His cross dispels each doubt, I bury in his tomb˘/˘///˘/˘˘˘/12B
Each thought of unbelief and fear, Each lingering shade of gloom.//˘???˘///˘˘/˘/15B

Counted by machine from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. It cannot hear emphasis or a poet’s licence, so treat it as a place to start reading, not the last word.