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Advent Hymnals

Church Hymnal 69

High in the Heavens

Words: Isaac WattsMusic: [unclear]Tune: [unclear]S.M.

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1High in the heavens, eternal God,
Thy goodness in full glory shines;
Thy truth shall break through every cloud
That veils and darkens Thy designs.

2Forever firm Thy justice stands,
As mountains their foundations keep;
Wise are the wonders of Thy hands;
Thy judgments are a mighty deep.

3Thy providence is kind and large,
Both man and beast Thy bounty share;
The whole creation is Thy charge,
But saints are Thy peculiar care.

4My God, how excellent Thy grace,
Whence all our hope and comfort springs!
The sons of Adam in distress
Fly to the shadow of Thy wings.

Music
[unclear]
Tune
[unclear]
Also sung to
Stockton (Christ in Song #308); Ames (Hymns and Tunes 1886 #47)
Meter
S.M.
Scripture
Psalm 36:5-7

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
8.8.8.8 · the hymnal prints S.M.
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 63% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABCB
Scan every line

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

Verse 1

High in the heavens, eternal God,/˘˘/˘/˘/8A*
Thy goodness in full glory shines;//˘˘//˘/8B
Thy truth shall break through every cloud//˘///˘/8C
That veils and darkens Thy designs.˘/˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 2

Forever firm Thy justice stands,˘/˘///˘/8A
As mountains their foundations keep;˘/˘˘˘/˘/8B
Wise are the wonders of Thy hands;/˘˘/˘˘//8A
Thy judgments are a mighty deep.//˘˘˘/˘/8B

Verse 3

Thy providence is kind and large,//˘˘˘/˘/8A
Both man and beast Thy bounty share;//˘///˘/8B
The whole creation is Thy charge,˘/˘/˘˘//8A
But saints are Thy peculiar care.˘/˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 4

My God, how excellent Thy grace,˘///˘˘//8A
Whence all our hope and comfort springs!//˘/˘/˘/8B
The sons of Adam in distress˘/˘/˘˘˘/8C
Fly to the shadow of Thy wings./˘˘//˘//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.