Hymns and Tunes 1886 186
Hail, sacred truth! whose piercing rays
Words: John Bakewell175, 120, 662
1Hail, sacred truth! whose piercing rays
Dispel the shades of night;
Diffusing o'er the mental world
The healing beams of light.
2Jesus, thy word, with friendly aid,
Restores our wandering feet;
Converts the sorrows of the mind
To joys divinely sweet.
3O send thy light and truth abroad,
In all their glory bright;
And bid the admiring world adore
The glories of thy grace.
- Words
- John Bakewell
- Meter
- 175, 120, 662
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 8.6.8.6 · the hymnal prints 175, 120, 662
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 63% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABCB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
Hail, sacred truth! whose piercing rays//˘/˘/˘/8A
Dispel the shades of night;˘/˘/˘/6B
Diffusing o'er the mental world˘/˘/˘/˘/8C
The healing beams of light.˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 2
Jesus, thy word, with friendly aid,/˘//˘/˘/8A
Restores our wandering feet;˘//˘/˘˘/8B
Converts the sorrows of the mind/˘˘/˘˘˘/8C
To joys divinely sweet.˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 3
O send thy light and truth abroad,˘///˘/˘/8A
In all their glory bright;˘/˘/˘/6B
And bid the admiring world adore˘/˘˘/˘/˘/9C
The glories of thy grace.˘/˘˘//6D
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.