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Christ in Song 276

Thou Art Near

Words: Anon

1O my God, thou blessed Saviour,
Thou art near when hope seems far;
Thou dost answer when I call thee,
In the night thou art my star.

2When the sorrows overtake me,
And the waves of grief roll high,
Thou dost speak in tones of comfort,
And my fears before thee fly.

3Blessed Jesus, I will trust thee,
For I know that thou art near;
In the darkness thou dost guide me,
And thy voice I always hear.

4When at last life's journey's ended,
And I cross the narrow sea,
Thou wilt be my faithful pilot,
And will bring me safe to thee.

Words: Anon

The verse

Meter: 8.7.8.7
Foot: trochaic (DUM-da) · 61% of beats fit
Rhyme: ABCB

Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

O my God, thou blessed Saviour,˘˘////˘˘8A

Thou art near when hope seems far;///////7B

Thou dost answer when I call thee,///˘/˘//8C

In the night thou art my star.˘˘///˘/7B

Verse 2

When the sorrows overtake me,/˘/˘/˘/˘8A

And the waves of grief roll high,˘˘/˘///7B

Thou dost speak in tones of comfort,///˘/˘/˘8C

And my fears before thee fly.˘˘/˘///7B

Verse 3

Blessed Jesus, I will trust thee,//˘˘˘//7A

For I know that thou art near;˘˘/˘///7B

In the darkness thou dost guide me,˘˘/˘///˘8A

And thy voice I always hear.˘//˘///7B

Verse 4

When at last life's journey's ended,/˘///˘/˘8A

And I cross the narrow sea,˘˘/˘/˘/7B

Thou wilt be my faithful pilot,//˘˘/˘/˘8C

And will bring me safe to thee.˘˘/˘/˘/7B

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.