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Advent Hymnals

Church Hymnal 67

O Love of God

Words: Frederick Martin LehmanMusic: Claudia Lehman MaysTune: O Love of God10.10.10.10.10.10

Studio

1O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints' and angels' song.

RefrainO love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints' and angels' song.

2When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,

3Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;

Meter
10.10.10.10.10.10
Scripture
Romans 8:38-39; Ephesians 3:18-19

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
8.7.8.6 · the hymnal prints 10.10.10.10.10.10
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 60% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABAB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

O love of God, how rich and pure!˘/˘///˘/8A
How measureless and strong!/????˘/7B
It shall forevermore endure—˘˘????˘/8A
The saints' and angels' song.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 2

When hoary time shall pass away,//˘/˘/˘/8A
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
When men who here refuse to pray,//˘/˘/˘/8A
On rocks and hills and mountains call,˘/˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 3

Could we with ink the ocean fill,˘˘˘/˘/˘/8A
And were the skies of parchment made,˘˘˘/˘/˘/8B
Were every stalk on earth a quill,˘/˘˘/˘/˘/9A
And every man a scribe by trade;˘/˘˘/˘/˘/9B

Refrain

O love of God, how rich and pure!˘/˘///˘/8A
How measureless and strong!/????˘/7B
It shall forevermore endure—˘˘????˘/8A
The saints' and angels' song.˘/˘/˘/6B

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.