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Hymns and Tunes 1876 454

Hymn 454

1O GOD, my inmost soul convert,
And deeply on my thoughtful heart
Eternal things impress ;
Give me to feel their solemn weight,
And tremble at the nearest gate
And wake to righteousness.

2Before me place in dread array
The pomp of that tremendous day,
When thou with clouds shalt come
To judge the nations at thy bar ;
And tell me, Lord, shall I be there,
To meet a joyful doom ?

3Be this my one great business here,
With holy trembling, holy fear,
Eternal bliss t' insure ;
Thy utmost counsel to fulfil,
And suffer all thy righteous will,
And to the end endure.

4Then, Father, then my soul receive,
Transported from this vale, to live
And reign with thee above ;
Where faith in sweetly lost in sight,
And hope in full, supremer delight,
And everlasting love.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
8.8.6.8.8.6
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 68% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABCDDE
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

O GOD, my inmost soul convert,˘/˘??//˘8A
And deeply on my thoughtful heart˘/˘˘˘/˘/8B
Eternal things impress ;˘/˘///6C
Give me to feel their solemn weight,/˘˘/˘/˘/8D
And tremble at the nearest gate˘/˘˘˘/˘/8D
And wake to righteousness.˘/˘/˘˘6E

Verse 2

Before me place in dread array˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
The pomp of that tremendous day,˘/˘˘˘/˘/8A
When thou with clouds shalt come//˘///6B
To judge the nations at thy bar ;˘/˘/˘˘//8C
And tell me, Lord, shall I be there,˘/˘/˘˘˘/8D
To meet a joyful doom ?˘/˘/˘/6E

Verse 3

Be this my one great business here,˘˘˘///˘/8A
With holy trembling, holy fear,˘/˘/˘˘/˘/9A
Eternal bliss t' insure ;˘/˘////7B
Thy utmost counsel to fulfil,////˘˘˘/8C
And suffer all thy righteous will,˘/˘///˘˘8C
And to the end endure.˘˘˘/˘/6B

Verse 4

Then, Father, then my soul receive,//˘/˘/˘/8A
Transported from this vale, to live˘/˘˘˘/˘/8B
And reign with thee above ;˘/˘/˘/6C
Where faith in sweetly lost in sight,//˘/˘/˘/8D
And hope in full, supremer delight,˘/˘/˘/˘˘/9D
And everlasting love.˘/˘/˘/6C

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.