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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 262

Eternal Father, God of love

Words: F. E. BeldenTune: Mason. L. M.L. M.

Studio

1Eternal Father, God of love, Creator of the universe,
Pour out thy Spirit from above As from thy temple we disperse.

2Keep thou our souls, till all we say
May honor thee, our God and King;
That our example day by day
May teach the sacred truths we sing.

3Direct our wayward steps aright,
Our Guide and our deliverer be;
In vain eternal arms of might
Unfold and draw us nearer thee.

Meter
L. M.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
8.8.8.8 · as printed
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 75% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABAB

Could also be sung to Old Hundredth, Duke Street, Germany, Deus Tuorum Militum, Federal Street · same meter and stresses; not printed with these words, so try it first.

Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Eternal Father, God of love,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
Creator of the universe,˘/˘˘˘/˘/8B
Pour out thy Spirit from above////˘˘˘/8A
As from thy temple we disperse.˘˘//˘˘˘/8B

Verse 2

Keep thou our souls, till all we say//˘///˘/8A
May honor thee, our God and King;˘/˘/˘/˘/8B
That our example day by day˘˘˘/˘/˘/8A
May teach the sacred truths we sing.˘/˘/˘/˘/8B

Verse 3

Direct our wayward steps aright,˘/˘/˘/??8A
Our Guide and our deliverer be;˘/˘˘˘/˘˘˘9B
In vain eternal arms of might˘/˘/˘/˘˘8C
Unfold and draw us nearer thee.˘/˘/˘/˘/8B

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.