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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1876 222

Sleep not, soldier of the cross

Studio

1Sleep not, soldier of the cross, Foes are lurking all around; Look and hear to find retreat, This is but lay battle ground.

2Up, and take thy shield and sword, Up, it is the call of Heaven; Shout not faithless from the Lord, Nobly strive as both striven.

3Break through all the force of ill, Tread the might of passion down, Struggle onward, onward still, Take the conquering Saviour's crown.

4Through the midst of toil and pain, Let the thought ne'er leave thy breast, Every triumph thou dost gain Makes thee sweet thy coming rest.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
28
Foot
trochaic (DUM-da) · 41% of beats fit
Rhyme
A
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Sleep not, soldier of the cross, Foes are lurking all around; Look and hear to find retreat, This is but lay battle ground./˘/˘˘˘//˘/˘/˘//˘/˘/˘/˘˘˘//˘/28A

Verse 2

Up, and take thy shield and sword, Up, it is the call of Heaven; Shout not faithless from the Lord, Nobly strive as both striven.˘˘///˘/˘˘˘˘/˘/˘/˘??˘˘//˘/˘//˘29A

Verse 3

Break through all the force of ill, Tread the might of passion down, Struggle onward, onward still, Take the conquering Saviour's crown.///˘/˘//˘˘˘/˘//˘/˘/˘//˘/˘˘/˘˘/30A

Verse 4

Through the midst of toil and pain, Let the thought ne'er leave thy breast, Every triumph thou dost gain Makes thee sweet thy coming rest./˘/˘/˘//˘//////˘˘/˘////////˘/29A

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.