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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 110

Awake, my soul, in joyful lays

Words: Samuel MedleyC.M.

Studio

1Awake, my soul, in joyful lays,
And sing thy great Redeemer's praise;
He justly claims a song from me,
His loving-kindness, O, how free!

2He saw me ruined in the fall,
Yet loved me notwithstanding all;
He saved me from my lost estate,
His loving-kindness, O, how great!

3Though numerous hosts of mighty foes,
Though earth and hell my way oppose,
He safely leads my soul along,
His loving-kindness, O, how strong!

4When trouble, like a gloomy cloud,
Has gathered thick and thundered loud,
He near my soul has always stood,
His loving-kindness, O, how good!

5And when earth's rightful King shall come
To take his ransomed people home,
I'll sing upon that blissful shore
His loving-kindness evermore.

Meter
C.M.
Scripture
Psalm 107:1

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
8.8.8.8 · the hymnal prints C.M.
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 70% of beats fit
Rhyme
AABB

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

Awake, my soul, in joyful lays,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
And sing thy great Redeemer's praise;˘///???/8A
He justly claims a song from me,˘/˘/˘/˘˘8B
His loving-kindness, O, how free!˘????˘//8B

Verse 2

He saw me ruined in the fall,˘/˘/˘˘˘/8A
Yet loved me notwithstanding all;//˘/˘/˘/8A
He saved me from my lost estate,˘/˘˘˘/˘/8B
His loving-kindness, O, how great!˘????˘//8B

Verse 3

Though numerous hosts of mighty foes,//˘˘/˘/˘/9A
Though earth and hell my way oppose,//˘/˘/˘/8A
He safely leads my soul along,˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
His loving-kindness, O, how strong!˘????˘//8B

Verse 4

When trouble, like a gloomy cloud,//˘/˘/˘/8A
Has gathered thick and thundered loud,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
He near my soul has always stood,˘/˘/˘///8B
His loving-kindness, O, how good!˘????˘//8B

Verse 5

And when earth's rightful King shall come˘///˘/˘/8A
To take his ransomed people home,˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
I'll sing upon that blissful shore//˘/˘/˘/8C
His loving-kindness evermore.˘????/˘/8C

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.