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Hymns and Tunes 1886 159

Gracious Spirit, Love divine

Words: John Stocker

1Gracious Spirit, Love divine,
Let thy light within me shine;
All my guilty fears remove,
Fill me with thy heavenly love.

2Speak thy pardoning grace to me,
Set the burdened sinner free;
Lead me to the Lamb of God,
Wash me in his precious blood.

3Life and peace to me impart,
Seal salvation on my heart;
Breathe thyself into my breast,
Earnest of immortal rest.

4Let me never from thee stray,
Keep me in the narrow way;
Fill my soul with joy divine,
Keep me, Lord, forever thine.

Words: John Stocker

Public Domain

The verse

Meter: 7.7.7.8
Foot: trochaic (DUM-da) · 70% of beats fit
Rhyme: AABC

Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Gracious Spirit, Love divine,/˘/˘/˘/7A

Let thy light within me shine;///˘/˘/7A

All my guilty fears remove,/˘/˘/˘/7B

Fill me with thy heavenly love./˘˘//˘˘/8C

Verse 2

Speak thy pardoning grace to me,///˘˘/˘˘8A

Set the burdened sinner free;/˘/˘/˘/7A

Lead me to the Lamb of God,/˘˘˘/˘/7B

Wash me in his precious blood./˘˘˘/˘/7C

Verse 3

Life and peace to me impart,/˘/˘˘//7A

Seal salvation on my heart;/˘/˘˘˘/7A

Breathe thyself into my breast,////˘˘/7B

Earnest of immortal rest./˘˘//˘/7B

Verse 4

Let me never from thee stray,/˘/˘˘//7A

Keep me in the narrow way;/˘˘˘/˘/7A

Fill my soul with joy divine,/˘/˘/˘/7B

Keep me, Lord, forever thine./˘/˘/˘/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.