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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1876 109

Show pity, Lord, O Lord, forgive!

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1Show pity, Lord, O Lord, forgive! Let a repenting sinner live; Are not thy mercies large and free? May not the guilty trust in thee?

2My crimes, though great, do not surpass The power and glory of thy grace; Great God, thy nature has no bound, So let thy pardoning love be found.

3My lips with shame my sins confess, Against thy law, against thy grace; Lord, should thy judgment grow severe, I am condemned, but thou art clear.

4Yet save a trembling sinner, Lord, Whose hope, still hovering round thy word, Would light on some sweet promise there, Some sure support against despair.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
32
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 55% of beats fit
Rhyme
A
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Show pity, Lord, O Lord, forgive! Let a repenting sinner live; Are not thy mercies large and free? May not the guilty trust in thee?//˘/˘/˘//˘˘/˘/˘/˘˘////˘/˘˘˘/˘/˘/32A

Verse 2

My crimes, though great, do not surpass The power and glory of thy grace; Great God, thy nature has no bound, So let thy pardoning love be found.˘///˘˘˘/˘/˘˘/˘˘//////˘˘˘/˘///˘˘/˘/34A

Verse 3

My lips with shame my sins confess, Against thy law, against thy grace; Lord, should thy judgment grow severe, I am condemned, but thou art clear.˘/˘/˘/˘/˘///˘////˘//˘/˘/˘˘˘/˘///32A

Verse 4

Yet save a trembling sinner, Lord, Whose hope, still hovering round thy word, Would light on some sweet promise there, Some sure support against despair.//˘/˘˘/˘/˘///˘˘///˘/˘///˘///˘/˘/˘/34A

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.