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Christ in Song 347

WE DEDICATE TO THEE

Words: A. P. Brown

Studio

1We are of thee and all we have;
The hands that builded the whole;
Thy will was in the builder's thought;
Thy hand unseen amidst us wrought.

2Through mortal motive, scheme, and plan,
Thy wise eternal purpose ran;
In our endeavor, work, and strife,
Inspire us with the higher life.

3And when these failing lips grow dumb,
And when the heart shall cease to beat,
And when these feet and hands grow numb,
Granted that our work is done, complete.

4Apart from thee we have no good,
Apart from thee we nothing are;
Thy Spirit moves us where we would,
Thy love is round us everywhere.

The verse

Meter
8.7.8.8
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 65% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABCC
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

We are of thee and all we have;˘˘˘/˘/˘˘8A
The hands that builded the whole;˘/˘/˘˘/7B
Thy will was in the builder's thought;/˘˘˘˘/˘/8C
Thy hand unseen amidst us wrought.//˘/˘/˘/8C

Verse 2

Through mortal motive, scheme, and plan,//˘/˘/˘/8A
Thy wise eternal purpose ran;//˘/˘/˘/8A
In our endeavor, work, and strife,˘/˘˘/˘/˘/9B
Inspire us with the higher life.//˘˘˘/˘/8B

Verse 3

And when these failing lips grow dumb,˘/˘/˘///8A
And when the heart shall cease to beat,˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
And when these feet and hands grow numb,˘/˘/˘///8A
Granted that our work is done, complete./˘˘/˘/˘/˘/10B

Verse 4

Apart from thee we have no good,˘/˘/˘˘˘/8A
Apart from thee we nothing are;˘/˘/˘/˘˘8B
Thy Spirit moves us where we would,//˘/˘/˘˘8A
Thy love is round us everywhere.//˘/˘/˘/8C

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.