Hymns and Tunes 1886 211
O that thy statutes every hour
Words: Isaac Watts
1O that thy statutes every hour
Might dwell upon my mind!
Thence I derive a quickening power,
And daily peace I find.
2To meditate thy precepts, Lord,
Shall be my sweet employ;
My soul shall ne'er forget thy word;
Thy word is all my joy.
3My lips with courage shall declare
Thy statutes and thy name;
I'll speak thy word, though kings should hear,
Nor yield to sinful shame.
- Words
- Isaac Watts
- Scripture
- Psalm 119:23
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 10.6.10.6
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 61% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABCB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
O that thy statutes every hour˘˘//˘/˘˘/˘10A
Might dwell upon my mind!˘/˘/˘/6B
Thence I derive a quickening power,/˘˘/˘/˘˘/˘10A
And daily peace I find.˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 2
To meditate thy precepts, Lord,˘/˘/////8A
Shall be my sweet employ;˘˘˘/˘/6B
My soul shall ne'er forget thy word;˘/˘/˘///8C
Thy word is all my joy.//˘/˘/6B
Verse 3
My lips with courage shall declare˘/˘/˘˘˘/8A
Thy statutes and thy name;//˘˘//6B
I'll speak thy word, though kings should hear,//////˘/8C
Nor yield to sinful shame.˘/˘/˘/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.