Hymns and Tunes 1876 118
Hymn 118
1MY Lord, my Life, what shall I cry ;
Thy mercy would I know ;
Thy purifying blood apply,
And wash me white as snow.
2Touch me, and make the leper clean ;
Purge my iniquity ;
Unless thou wash my soul from sin,
I have no part in thee.
3But art thou not already mine ?
Answer, if mine thou art ;
Whisper within, thou Lord divine,
And cheer my drooping heart.
- Also sung to
- Jerusalem (Hymns and Tunes 1886 #452)
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 8.6.8.6
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 62% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABAB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
MY Lord, my Life, what shall I cry ;˘/˘/˘˘˘/8A
Thy mercy would I know ;//˘˘˘/6B
Thy purifying blood apply,//˘/˘/˘/8A
And wash me white as snow.˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 2
Touch me, and make the leper clean ;/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
Purge my iniquity ;/˘//˘˘6B
Unless thou wash my soul from sin,˘///˘/˘/8C
I have no part in thee.˘˘˘/˘/6D
Verse 3
But art thou not already mine ?˘//˘˘/˘/8A
Answer, if mine thou art ;/˘˘///6B
Whisper within, thou Lord divine,/˘˘///˘/8A
And cheer my drooping heart.˘/˘/˘/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.