Hymns and Tunes 1886 172
I was by nature born the Lord
Words: Anon229, 642, 692
1I was by nature born the Lord
The ancient prophets spoke his word;
His Spirit did their tongues inspire,
And warmed their hearts with heavenly fire.
2Great God, mine eyes with pleasure look
On the dear volume of thy book;
There my Redeemer's face I see,
And read his name who died for me.
3Let the false raptures of the mind
Be lost, and vanish in the wind;
Here I can fix my hope secure;
This is thy word, and must endure.
- Words
- Anon
- Meter
- 229, 642, 692
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 8.8.8.10 · the hymnal prints 229, 642, 692
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 59% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- AABB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
I was by nature born the Lord˘˘˘/˘/˘/8A
The ancient prophets spoke his word;˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
His Spirit did their tongues inspire,˘/˘˘˘///8C
And warmed their hearts with heavenly fire.˘/˘/˘/˘˘/˘10D
Verse 2
Great God, mine eyes with pleasure look////˘/˘/8A
On the dear volume of thy book;˘˘//˘˘//8A
There my Redeemer's face I see,/˘???/˘/8B
And read his name who died for me.˘/˘/˘/˘˘8B
Verse 3
Let the false raptures of the mind/˘//˘˘˘/8A
Be lost, and vanish in the wind;˘/˘/˘˘˘/8A
Here I can fix my hope secure;/˘˘/˘/˘/8B
This is thy word, and must endure.˘˘//˘/˘/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.