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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 180

A glory gilds the sacred page

Words: Wm. Cowper

Studio

1A glory gilds the sacred page,
Majestic like the sun;
It gives a light to every age,
It gives, but borrows none.

2The Spirit breathes upon the word,
And brings the truth to sight;
Precepts and promises afford
A sanctifying light.

3The hand that gave it still supplies
The gracious light and heat;
His truths upon the nations rise,
They rise, but never set.

4Let everlasting thanks be thine,
For such a bright display
As makes a world of darkness shine
With beams of heavenly day.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
8.6.9.6
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 87% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABAB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

A glory gilds the sacred page,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
Majestic like the sun;˘/˘/˘/6B
It gives a light to every age,˘/˘/˘/˘˘/9A
It gives, but borrows none.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 2

The Spirit breathes upon the word,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
And brings the truth to sight;˘/˘/˘/6B
Precepts and promises afford//˘/˘˘˘/8C
A sanctifying light.˘/˘˘˘/6B

Verse 3

The hand that gave it still supplies˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
The gracious light and heat;˘/˘/˘/6B
His truths upon the nations rise,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
They rise, but never set.˘/˘/˘/6C

Verse 4

Let everlasting thanks be thine,//˘/˘/˘/8A
For such a bright display˘/˘/˘/6B
As makes a world of darkness shine˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
With beams of heavenly day.˘/˘/˘˘/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.