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Hymns and Tunes 1886 208

O how I love thy holy law!

Words: Isaac WattsMusic: Thomas FirthTune: Winchester. C. M.C.M.

1O how I love thy holy law!
'Tis daily my delight;
And thence my meditations draw
Divine advice by night.

2How doth thy word my heart engage!
How well employ my tongue!
And in my tiresome pilgrimage
Yields me a heavenly song.

3No treasures so enrich the mind,
Nor shall thy word grow old;
For loads of silver well-refined,
Nor heaps of choicest gold.

4When all the powers of nature droop,
Thy promises of grace
Are pillars to support the hope
Of my abiding-place.

Words: Isaac Watts
Music: Thomas Firth
Tune: Winchester. C. M.
Meter: C.M.
Scripture: Psalm 119:97

Public Domain

The verse

Meter: 8.6.8.6 · as printed
Foot: iambic (da-DUM) · 67% of beats fit
Rhyme: ABCD

Scan every line

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

Verse 1

O how I love thy holy law!˘/˘///˘/8A

'Tis daily my delight;//˘˘˘/6B

And thence my meditations draw˘/˘/˘/˘/8A

Divine advice by night.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 2

How doth thy word my heart engage!////˘/˘/8A

How well employ my tongue!//˘/˘/6B

And in my tiresome pilgrimage˘˘˘/˘˘/˘˘9C

Yields me a heavenly song./˘˘/˘/6D*

Verse 3

No treasures so enrich the mind,˘/˘˘˘/˘/8A

Nor shall thy word grow old;˘˘////6B

For loads of silver well-refined,˘/˘/˘????9C

Nor heaps of choicest gold.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 4

When all the powers of nature droop,//˘/˘/˘/8A*

Thy promises of grace//˘˘˘/6B

Are pillars to support the hope˘/˘˘˘/˘/8C

Of my abiding-place.˘˘????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.