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Hymns and Tunes 1876 489

Hymn 489

1MY opening eyes with rapture see
The light of thy returning day ;
My thoughts, O God, ascend to thee,
While thus my early vows I pay.

2I yield my heart to thee alone,
Nor would receive another guest ;
Eternal King, erect thy throne
In this poor heart, thy humble rest.

3Oh ! bid this trifling world retire,
And drive each carnal thought away ;
Nor let me feel one vain desire,
One sinful thought through all the day.

4Then, to thy courts when I repair,
My soul shall rise on joyful wing ;
The wonders of thy love declare,
And join the strain which angels sing.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter: 9.8.8.8
Foot: iambic (da-DUM) · 71% of beats fit
Rhyme: ABAB

Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

MY opening eyes with rapture see˘/˘˘/˘/˘/9A

The light of thy returning day ;˘/˘/˘/˘/8B

My thoughts, O God, ascend to thee,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A

While thus my early vows I pay.//˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 2

I yield my heart to thee alone,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A

Nor would receive another guest ;˘˘˘/˘/˘/8B

Eternal King, erect thy throne˘/˘/˘///8A

In this poor heart, thy humble rest.˘˘////˘/8B

Verse 3

Oh ! bid this trifling world retire,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A

And drive each carnal thought away ;˘///˘/˘/8B

Nor let me feel one vain desire,˘/˘///˘/˘9C

One sinful thought through all the day.//˘///˘/8B

Verse 4

Then, to thy courts when I repair,/˘///˘˘/8A

My soul shall rise on joyful wing ;˘/˘/˘/˘/8B

The wonders of thy love declare,˘/˘˘//˘/8A

And join the strain which angels sing.˘/˘/˘/˘/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.