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Hymns and Tunes 1886 170

Let everlasting glories crown

Words: Isaac Watts

1Let everlasting glories crown
Thy head, my Saviour and my Lord;
Thy hands have brought salvation down,
And writ the blessings in thy word.

2In vain the trembling conscience seeks
Some solid ground to rest upon;
With long despair the spirit breaks,
Till we apply to Christ alone.

3How well thy blessed truths agree!
How wise and holy thy commands!
Thy promises, how firm they be!
How sure our hope and comfort stands!

4Should all the forms that men devise
Assault my faith with treacherous art,
I'd call them vanity and lies,
And bind the gospel to my heart.

Words: Isaac Watts

Public Domain

The verse

Meter: 8.9.8.8
Foot: iambic (da-DUM) · 56% of beats fit
Rhyme: ABAB

Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Let everlasting glories crown//˘/˘/˘/8A

Thy head, my Saviour and my Lord;//˘/˘˘˘˘/9B

Thy hands have brought salvation down,//˘/˘/˘/8A

And writ the blessings in thy word.˘/˘/˘˘//8C

Verse 2

In vain the trembling conscience seeks˘/˘/˘˘/˘/9A

Some solid ground to rest upon;//˘/˘/˘/8B

With long despair the spirit breaks,˘/˘/˘/˘/8C

Till we apply to Christ alone./˘˘/˘/˘/8D

Verse 3

How well thy blessed truths agree!/////˘/7A

How wise and holy thy commands!//˘/˘/˘/8B

Thy promises, how firm they be!//˘˘//˘˘8A

How sure our hope and comfort stands!///˘/˘/˘/9B

Verse 4

Should all the forms that men devise˘/˘/˘/˘/8A

Assault my faith with treacherous art,˘/˘/˘/˘˘/9B

I'd call them vanity and lies,//˘/˘˘˘/8A

And bind the gospel to my heart.˘/˘/˘˘˘/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.