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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 191

How perfect is thy word

Words: H. AbbottTune: DAYS. M.

Studio

1How perfect is thy word!
Thy judgments are all just;
And ever in thy promise, Lord,
May man securely trust.

2I hear thy word in love,
In faith thy word receive;
O send thy Spirit from above,
To teach thy word to give.

3Thy counsels all are plain,
Thy precepts all are pure;
And long as heaven and earth remain,
Thy truth shall still endure.

4O, may my soul in joy
Trust thee through every word;
Be it through life my glad employ
To keep thy faithful word.

Tune
DAY
Meter
S. M.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
6.6.8.6 · as printed
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 64% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABAB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary · * a word sung short, as “heav’n”

Verse 1

How perfect is thy word!/˘/˘//6A
Thy judgments are all just;//˘˘//6B
And ever in thy promise, Lord,˘/˘˘//˘/8C
May man securely trust.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 2

I hear thy word in love,˘///˘/6A
In faith thy word receive;˘///˘/6B
O send thy Spirit from above,˘///˘˘˘/8A
To teach thy word to give.˘///˘/6C

Verse 3

Thy counsels all are plain,//˘/˘/6A
Thy precepts all are pure;////˘/6B
And long as heaven and earth remain,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A*
Thy truth shall still endure.//˘/˘/6B

Verse 4

O, may my soul in joy˘˘˘/˘/6A
Trust thee through every word;////˘/6B
Be it through life my glad employ˘˘//˘/˘/8A
To keep thy faithful word.˘///˘/6B

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.