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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 227

With joy we hail the sacred day

Words: Lowell MasonTune: HerbertC. M.

Studio

1With joy we hail the sacred day
Which God has called his own;
With joy the summons we obey,
To worship at his throne.

2Thy chosen temple, Lord, how fair!
Where willing votaries throng
To breathe the humble, fervent prayer,
And pour the choral song.

3Spirit of grace, O deign to dwell
Within thy church below;
Make her in holiness excel,
With pure devotion glow.

4Let peace within her walls be found;
Let all her sons unite
To spread with holy zeal around
Her clear and shining light.

5Then hail! thou sacred, blessed day,
The best of all the seven,
When hearts unite their vows to pay
Of gratitude to heaven.

Meter
C. M.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
8.6.8.6 · as printed
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 76% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABAB

Could also be sung to Azmon, Coronation, Ortonville, Cantate Domino, Christmas · same meter and stresses; not printed with these words, so try it first.

Scan every line

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

Verse 1

With joy we hail the sacred day˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
Which God has called his own;˘/˘/˘/6B
With joy the summons we obey,˘/˘/˘˘˘/8A
To worship at his throne.˘/˘˘˘/6B

Verse 2

Thy chosen temple, Lord, how fair!//˘/˘///8A
Where willing votaries throng//˘???/7B
To breathe the humble, fervent prayer,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
And pour the choral song.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 3

Spirit of grace, O deign to dwell/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
Within thy church below;˘///˘/6B
Make her in holiness excel,/˘˘/˘˘˘/8A
With pure devotion glow.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 4

Let peace within her walls be found;//˘/˘/˘/8A
Let all her sons unite//˘///6B
To spread with holy zeal around˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
Her clear and shining light.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 5

Then hail! thou sacred, blessed day,////˘//7A
The best of all the seven,˘/˘/˘/˘7B
When hearts unite their vows to pay////˘/˘/8A
Of gratitude to heaven.˘/˘/˘/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.