Church Hymnal 53
O Blest Creator of the Light
Words: AnonymousMusic: [unclear]Tune: [unclear]L.M.
1O blest Creator of the light,
Who mak'st the day with radiance bright,
And o'er the forming world didst call
The light from chaos first of all.
2Whose wisdom joined in meet array
The morn and eve, and named them Day:
Night comes with all its darkling fears;
Regard Thy people's prayers and tears.
3Lest, sunk in sin, and whelmed with strife,
They lose the gift of endless life;
While thinking but the thoughts of time,
They weave new chains of woe and crime.
4But grant them grace that they may strain
The heavenly gate and prize to gain:
Each harmful lure aside to cast,
And purge away each error past.
- Words
- Anonymous; tr. John Mason Neale
- Music
- [unclear]
- Tune
- [unclear]
- Meter
- L.M.
- Scripture
- Genesis 1:3-5; Psalm 139:12
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 8.8.8.8 · as printed
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 81% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- AABB
Could also be sung to Old Hundredth, Duke Street, Germany, Deus Tuorum Militum, Federal Street · same meter and stresses; not printed with these words, so try it first.
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary · * a word sung short, as “heav’n”
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Verse 4
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.