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Hymns and Tunes 1876 490

Hymn 490

1MY LORD, breathe an evening blessing
Ere repose our spirits seal ;
Sin and want we come confessing,
Thou canst save, and thou canst heal.

2Though destruction walk around us,
Though the arrows past us fly,
Angel guards from thee surround us ;
We are safe if thou art nigh.

3Though the night be dark and dreary,
Darkness cannot hide from thee ;
Thou art he, who, never weary,
Watchest where thy people be.

4Should swift death this night o'ertake us,
And command us to the tomb,
May the morn of glory wake us,
Clad in bright, eternal bloom.

Also sung to: Hinman (SDA Hymnal #49); Evening Prayer (Church Hymnal #49)

Public Domain

The verse

Meter: 8.8.8.7
Foot: trochaic (DUM-da) · 72% of beats fit
Rhyme: ABAB

Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

MY LORD, breathe an evening blessing˘//˘/˘/˘8A

Ere repose our spirits seal ;/˘//˘/˘/8B

Sin and want we come confessing,/˘/˘/˘/˘8A

Thou canst save, and thou canst heal.///˘///7B

Verse 2

Though destruction walk around us,/˘/˘/˘/˘8A

Though the arrows past us fly,/˘/˘/˘/7B

Angel guards from thee surround us ;/˘/˘/˘/˘8A

We are safe if thou art nigh.˘˘/˘///7B

Verse 3

Though the night be dark and dreary,/˘/˘/˘/˘8A

Darkness cannot hide from thee ;/˘/˘/˘/7B

Thou art he, who, never weary,//˘˘/˘/˘8A

Watchest where thy people be./˘///˘˘7B

Verse 4

Should swift death this night o'ertake us,˘//˘/???˘9A

And command us to the tomb,˘˘/˘˘˘/7B

May the morn of glory wake us,˘˘/˘/˘/˘8A

Clad in bright, eternal bloom./˘/˘/˘/7B

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.