Hymns and Tunes 1886 205
Blest are the undefiled in heart
1Blest are the undefiled in heart,
Whose ways are right and clean;
Who never from thy law depart,
But fly from every sin.
2Blest are the men who keep thy word,
And practice thy commands;
With their whole heart they seek thee,Lord,
And serve thee with their hands.
3Great is their peace who love thy law;
How firm their souls abide!
Nor can a bold temptation draw
Their steadfast feet aside.
- Scripture
- Psalm 119:1
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 9.6.8.7
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 58% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABAC
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
Blest are the undefiled in heart,/˘˘????˘/9A
Whose ways are right and clean;˘/˘/˘/6B
Who never from thy law depart,˘/˘˘//˘/8A
But fly from every sin.˘/˘/˘˘/7C
Verse 2
Blest are the men who keep thy word,/˘˘/˘///8A
And practice thy commands;˘/˘/˘/6B
With their whole heart they seek thee,Lord,˘˘//˘///8C
And serve thee with their hands.˘//˘˘/6B
Verse 3
Great is their peace who love thy law;/˘˘/˘///8A
How firm their souls abide!//˘/˘/6B
Nor can a bold temptation draw˘˘˘/˘/˘/8A
Their steadfast feet aside.˘///˘/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.