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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1876 42

Hymn 42

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1O THOU who see, Eternal One !
In thee our heart adoring calls ;
To thee the sons of Jacob's sons
Have raised, and now devote, these walls.

2Here let thy blest assemblies meet ;
And be this place to worship given,
Like that bright spot where Jacob slept,
The house of God, the gate of Heaven.

3Here may thy word with power descend ;
As incense, let thy children's prayer,
From contrite hearts and lips ascend,
Rise on the still and holy air.

4Here be thy praise devoutly sung ;
Here let thy truth beam forth to save,
As when, of old, thy Spirit hung
On wings of light, o'er Joshua's wave.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
8.9.8.8
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 60% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABAB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

O THOU who see, Eternal One !˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
In thee our heart adoring calls ;˘//˘/˘/˘/9B
To thee the sons of Jacob's sons˘/˘/˘/˘/8C
Have raised, and now devote, these walls.˘/˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 2

Here let thy blest assemblies meet ;////˘/˘/8A
And be this place to worship given,˘˘˘/˘/˘/˘9B
Like that bright spot where Jacob slept,/˘////˘/8C
The house of God, the gate of Heaven.˘/˘/˘/˘/˘9D

Verse 3

Here may thy word with power descend ;/˘//˘/˘˘/9A
As incense, let thy children's prayer,˘/////˘/8B
From contrite hearts and lips ascend,˘˘//˘/˘/8A
Rise on the still and holy air./˘˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 4

Here be thy praise devoutly sung ;/˘//˘/˘/8A
Here let thy truth beam forth to save,//////˘/8B
As when, of old, thy Spirit hung˘/˘///˘/8A
On wings of light, o'er Joshua's wave.˘/˘///˘˘/9B

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.