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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1876 368

BEHOLD a Stranger at the door

Studio

1BEHOLD a Stranger at the door! He gently knocks, has knocked before, Has waited long, is waiting still, You treat no other friend so ill.

2He councils thee to buy of him Gold tried by fire, and raiment clean; Anoint thine eyes, that thou mayst see, And put away thy native fear.

3Oh, hear the faithful Witness' voice, He offers now a final choice; Then art offensive, O lukewarm! Therefore be zealous and reform.

4His mission now is almost o'er, Before the throne he'll plead no more; The filthy must his filth retain, He that is holy shall remain.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
32
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 65% of beats fit
Rhyme
A
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

BEHOLD a Stranger at the door! He gently knocks, has knocked before, Has waited long, is waiting still, You treat no other friend so ill.˘/˘/˘˘˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/32A

Verse 2

He councils thee to buy of him Gold tried by fire, and raiment clean; Anoint thine eyes, that thou mayst see, And put away thy native fear.˘/˘/˘/˘˘//˘/˘˘??/˘///˘/?/˘/˘///˘/33A

Verse 3

Oh, hear the faithful Witness' voice, He offers now a final choice; Then art offensive, O lukewarm! Therefore be zealous and reform.˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘///˘/˘˘////˘/˘˘˘/32A

Verse 4

His mission now is almost o'er, Before the throne he'll plead no more; The filthy must his filth retain, He that is holy shall remain.˘/˘/˘///˘/˘///˘/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘˘˘/˘˘˘/32A

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.