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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1876 20

Hymn 20

Studio

1HOLY and reverend is the name
Of our eternal King ;
Thrice holy Lord ! the angels cry ;
Thrice holy ! let us sing.

2The deepest reverence of the mind,
Pay, O my soul ! to God ;
Lift with thy hands a holy heart
To his sublime abode.

3With sacred awe pronounce his name
Whom words nor thoughts can reach ;
A broken heart shall please him more
Than the best forms of speech.

4Thou holy God ! preserve our souls
From all pollution free ;
The pure in heart are thy delight,
And they thy face shall see.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
9.7.8.6
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 61% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABCB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

HOLY and reverend is the name/˘˘/˘˘˘˘/9A
Of our eternal King ;˘/˘˘/˘/7B
Thrice holy Lord ! the angels cry ;//˘/˘/˘/8C
Thrice holy ! let us sing.//˘/˘/6B

Verse 2

The deepest reverence of the mind,˘/˘/˘˘˘˘/9A
Pay, O my soul ! to God ;/˘˘/˘/6B
Lift with thy hands a holy heart/˘//˘/˘/8C
To his sublime abode.˘˘˘/˘/6D

Verse 3

With sacred awe pronounce his name˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
Whom words nor thoughts can reach ;˘/˘/˘/6B
A broken heart shall please him more˘/˘/˘/˘/8C
Than the best forms of speech.˘˘//˘/6B

Verse 4

Thou holy God ! preserve our souls//˘/˘//˘/9A
From all pollution free ;˘/˘/˘/6B
The pure in heart are thy delight,˘/˘/˘/˘/8C
And they thy face shall see.˘˘//˘/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.