Skip to content

A copy of Advent Hymnals. Open this page on adventhymnals.org →

Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 150

Great Spirit, by whose mighty power

Words: Thomas Haweis

Studio

1Great Spirit, by whose mighty power
All creatures live and move,
On us thy benediction shower;
Inspire our souls with love.

2Hail, Source of light! arise and shine;
Darkness and doubt dispel;
Give peace and joy, for we are thine;
In us forever dwell.

3From death to life our spirits raise,
And full redemption bring;
New tongues impart to speak the praise
Of Christ, our God and King.

4Thine inward witness bear, unknown
To all the world beside;
Exalting thee, we feel and own
Our Saviour glorified.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
9.6.9.7
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 56% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABAB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Great Spirit, by whose mighty power//˘˘˘/˘/˘9A
All creatures live and move,//˘/˘/6B
On us thy benediction shower;˘˘//˘/˘/˘9A
Inspire our souls with love.///˘/˘/7C

Verse 2

Hail, Source of light! arise and shine;//˘/˘/˘/8A
Darkness and doubt dispel;/˘˘/˘/6B
Give peace and joy, for we are thine;//˘/˘˘˘/8A
In us forever dwell.˘˘˘/˘/6B

Verse 3

From death to life our spirits raise,˘/˘//˘/˘/9A
And full redemption bring;˘/˘/˘/6B
New tongues impart to speak the praise////˘/˘/8A
Of Christ, our God and King.˘//˘/˘/7B

Verse 4

Thine inward witness bear, unknown//˘/˘/˘/8A
To all the world beside;˘/˘/˘/6B
Exalting thee, we feel and own˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
Our Saviour glorified./˘/˘˘/˘/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.