Skip to content

A copy of Advent Hymnals. Open this page on adventhymnals.org →

Advent Hymnals

Church Hymnal 20

Lord of All Being, Throned Afar

Words: Oliver Wendell HolmesMusic: [unclear]Tune: [unclear]L.M.

Studio

1Lord of all being, throned afar,
Thy glory flames from sun and star;
Center and soul of every sphere,
Yet to each loving heart how near!

2Sun of our life, Thy quickening ray
Sheds on our path the glow of day;
Star of our hope, Thy softened light
Cheers the long watches of the night.

3Our midnight is Thy smile withdrawn;
Our noontide is Thy gracious dawn;
Our rainbow arch, Thy mercy's sign;
All, save the clouds of sin, are Thine.

4Grant us Thy truth to make us free,
And kindling hearts that burn for Thee,
Till all Thy living altars claim
One holy light, one heavenly flame.

Music
[unclear]
Tune
[unclear]
Also sung to
Louvan (SDA Hymnal #17)
Meter
L.M.
Scripture
Psalm 139:7-12; 1 John 1:5

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
8.8.8.8 · as printed
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 57% of beats fit
Rhyme
AABB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary · * a word sung short, as “heav’n”

Verse 1

Lord of all being, throned afar,/˘//˘/˘/8A
Thy glory flames from sun and star;//˘/˘/˘/8A
Center and soul of every sphere,/˘˘/˘/˘/8B
Yet to each loving heart how near!/˘//˘///8B

Verse 2

Sun of our life, Thy quickening ray/˘˘///˘˘/9A
Sheds on our path the glow of day;/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
Star of our hope, Thy softened light/˘˘///˘/8B
Cheers the long watches of the night./˘//˘˘˘/8B

Verse 3

Our midnight is Thy smile withdrawn;˘//˘//˘/8A
Our noontide is Thy gracious dawn;˘??˘//˘/8A
Our rainbow arch, Thy mercy's sign;˘/////˘/8B
All, save the clouds of sin, are Thine.//˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 4

Grant us Thy truth to make us free,/˘//˘/˘/8A
And kindling hearts that burn for Thee,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
Till all Thy living altars claim////˘/˘/8B
One holy light, one heavenly flame.//˘///˘/8B*

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.