Christ in Song 346
THY PRESENCE HERE
Words: John Greenleaf Whittier
1We may not climb the heavenly steeps
To bring the Lord Christ down;
In vain we search the lowest deeps,
For him no depths can drown.
2But warm, sweet, tender, even yet
A present help is he;
And faith has still its Olivet,
And love its Galilee.
3The healing of his seamless dress
Is by our beds of pain;
We touch him in life's throng and press,
And we are whole again.
4Through him the first fond prayers are said
Our lips of childhood frame;
The last low whispers of our dead
Are burdened with his name.
5O Lord and Master of us all,
Whate'er our name or sign,
We own thy sway, we hear thy call,
We test our lives by thine.
- Also sung to
- Immortal Love (SDA Hymnal #455); Invitation (Hymns and Tunes 1886 #312)
The verse
- Meter
- 9.6.8.6
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 55% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABAB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
Verse 2
Verse 3
Verse 4
Verse 5
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.