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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 166

Holy Spirit, lamp of light

Words: Edwin BarnesTune: Salisbury7s & 5

Studio

1Holy Spirit, lamp of light,
Shine upon our nature's night;
Give thy blessed inward sight,
Comforter divine!

2We are sinful; cleanse us, Lord;
We are faint; thy strength afford:
Lost,—until by thee restored,
Comforter divine!

3Like the dew, thy peace distil;
Guide, subdue our wayward will;
Things of Christ unfolding still,
Comforter divine!

4In us 'Abba Father,' cry;
Earnest of our rest on high,
Hope of immortality,
Comforter divine!

5Search for us the depths of God;
Bear us up the starry road
To the light of thine abode,
Comforter divine!

Meter
7s & 5

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
7.8.6.5 · the hymnal prints 7s & 5
Foot
trochaic (DUM-da) · 61% of beats fit
Rhyme
AAAB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Holy Spirit, lamp of light,/˘/˘/˘/7A
Shine upon our nature's night;/˘//˘/˘/8A
Give thy blessed inward sight,////˘/6A
Comforter divine!/˘˘˘/5B

Verse 2

We are sinful; cleanse us, Lord;˘˘/˘/˘/7A
We are faint; thy strength afford:˘˘///˘/7A
Lost,—until by thee restored,/˘/˘/˘/7A
Comforter divine!/˘˘˘/5B

Verse 3

Like the dew, thy peace distil;/˘///˘/7A
Guide, subdue our wayward will;/˘//˘/˘˘8A
Things of Christ unfolding still,/˘/˘/˘/7A
Comforter divine!/˘˘˘/5B

Verse 4

In us 'Abba Father,' cry;˘˘/˘/˘/7A
Earnest of our rest on high,/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
Hope of immortality,/˘/˘/˘˘7B
Comforter divine!/˘˘˘/5C

Verse 5

Search for us the depths of God;/˘˘˘/˘/7A
Bear us up the starry road/˘˘˘///7B
To the light of thine abode,˘˘/˘/˘/7B
Comforter divine!/˘˘˘/5C

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.