Hymns and Tunes 1886 210
How blest are they who always keep
1How blest are they who always keep
The pure and perfect way;
Who never from the sacred paths
Of God's commandments stray!
2How blest, who to his righteous laws
Have still obedient been,
And have with fervent, humble zeal
His favor sought to win!
3Thou strictly hast enjoined us, Lord,
To learn thy will divine,
And all our diligence employ
Thy statutes to fulfill.
4O then that thy most holy will
Might o'er my ways preside;
And I the course of all my life
By thy direction guide!
- Scripture
- Psalm 119:1-5
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 8.6.8.6
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 63% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABCB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
How blest are they who always keep//˘˘˘///8A
The pure and perfect way;˘/˘˘//6B
Who never from the sacred paths˘/˘˘˘/˘/8C
Of God's commandments stray!˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 2
How blest, who to his righteous laws//˘˘˘/˘/8A
Have still obedient been,˘/˘/˘˘˘7B
And have with fervent, humble zeal˘˘˘/˘/˘/8C
His favor sought to win!˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 3
Thou strictly hast enjoined us, Lord,//˘///˘/8A
To learn thy will divine,˘//˘˘/6B
And all our diligence employ˘//˘/˘˘˘/9C
Thy statutes to fulfill.//˘˘˘/6D
Verse 4
O then that thy most holy will˘/˘///˘˘8A
Might o'er my ways preside;˘/˘/˘/6B
And I the course of all my life˘˘˘/˘/˘/8C
By thy direction guide!˘/˘/˘/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.