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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1876 48

Hamburg

Studio

1I LOVE the sacred book of God ;
No other can its place supply ;
It points me to the saints' abode,
And bids me from destruction fly.

2Sweet book ! in thee my eyes discern
The image of my absent Lord ;
From thine instructive pages I learn
The joys his presence will afford.

3But while I'm here, thou shalt supply
His place, and till me of his love ;
I'll read, with faith's discerning eye,
And thus partake of joys above.

4Yes, Lord, my title clear
To mansions that will ne'er decay ;
Dear Lord, oh, when wilt thou appear,
And bear my longing soul away !

Also sung to
Hamburg (Hymns and Tunes 1886 #171)

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
8.8.8.8
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 76% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABAB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

I LOVE the sacred book of God ;˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
No other can its place supply ;˘/˘˘˘/˘/8B
It points me to the saints' abode,˘/˘˘˘/˘/8C
And bids me from destruction fly.˘/˘˘˘/˘/8B

Verse 2

Sweet book ! in thee my eyes discern//˘/˘/˘/8A
The image of my absent Lord ;˘/˘˘˘/˘/8B
From thine instructive pages I learn˘///˘/˘˘/9A
The joys his presence will afford.˘/˘/˘˘˘/8B

Verse 3

But while I'm here, thou shalt supply˘/////˘/8A
His place, and till me of his love ;˘/˘/˘˘˘/8B
I'll read, with faith's discerning eye,//˘/˘/˘/8A
And thus partake of joys above.˘/˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 4

Yes, Lord, my title clear//˘/˘/6A
To mansions that will ne'er decay ;˘/˘˘˘/˘/8B
Dear Lord, oh, when wilt thou appear,//˘///˘/8A
And bear my longing soul away !˘/˘/˘/˘/8B

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.