Hymns and Tunes 1886 206
Thy law is perfect, Lord of light
1Thy law is perfect, Lord of light,
Thy testimonies sure;
The statutes of thy realm are right,
And thy commands are pure.
2Let these, O God, my soul convert,
And make thy servant wise;
Let thee be gladness to my heart,
The dayspring to mine eyes.
3So may thy words my lips express,
The thoughts that throng my mind,
O Lord, my strength and righteousness,
With thee acceptance find.
- Scripture
- Psalm 19:7-8
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 8.6.8.6
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 65% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABCB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
Thy law is perfect, Lord of light,//˘˘//˘/8A
Thy testimonies sure;//˘/˘/6B
The statutes of thy realm are right,˘/˘˘//˘/8A
And thy commands are pure.˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 2
Let these, O God, my soul convert,/˘˘/˘//˘8A
And make thy servant wise;˘///˘/6B
Let thee be gladness to my heart,//˘/˘˘˘/8C
The dayspring to mine eyes.˘??˘//6B
Verse 3
So may thy words my lips express,˘˘//˘/˘/8A
The thoughts that throng my mind,˘/˘/˘/6B
O Lord, my strength and righteousness,˘/˘/˘/˘˘8C
With thee acceptance find.˘/˘/˘/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.