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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 105

What equal honors shall we bring

Words: Isaac WattsC.M.

Studio

1What equal honors shall we bring
To thee, O Lord our God, the Lamb,
When all the notes that angels sing
Are far inferior to thy name?

2Worthy is he that once was slain,
The Prince of peace that groaned and died,
Worthy to rise, and live, and reign,
At his almighty Father's side.

3Blessings forever on the Lamb,
Who bore the curse for wretched men;
Let angels sound his sacred name,
Let every creature say, Amen!

Meter
C.M.
Scripture
Revelation 5:12

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
8.8.8.9 · the hymnal prints C.M.
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 71% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABAC

Could also be sung to Azmon, Coronation, Ortonville, Cantate Domino, Christmas · same meter and stresses; not printed with these words, so try it first.

Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

What equal honors shall we bring˘/˘/˘˘˘/8A
To thee, O Lord our God, the Lamb,˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
When all the notes that angels sing//˘/˘/˘/8A
Are far inferior to thy name?˘///˘˘˘//9C

Verse 2

Worthy is he that once was slain,/˘˘˘˘/˘/8A
The Prince of peace that groaned and died,˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
Worthy to rise, and live, and reign,/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
At his almighty Father's side.˘˘˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 3

Blessings forever on the Lamb,/˘˘/˘˘˘/8A
Who bore the curse for wretched men;˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
Let angels sound his sacred name,//˘/˘/˘/8C
Let every creature say, Amen!//˘/˘/˘/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.