Skip to content

A copy of Advent Hymnals. Open this page on adventhymnals.org →

Hymns and Tunes 1886 29

HOLY and reverend is the name

227, 648, 396

1HOLY and reverend is the name
Of our eternal King;
Thrice holy Lord! the angels cry;
Thrice holy! let us sing.

2The deepest reverence of the mind,
Pay, O my soul! to God;
Lift with thy hands a holy heart
To his sublime abode.

3With sacred awe pronounce his name
Whom words nor thoughts can reach;
A broken heart shall please him more
Than noblest forms of speech.

4Thou holy God, preserve our souls
From all pollution free;
The pure in heart are thy delight,
And they thy face shall see.

5Till then thy service shall be ours,
Thy praise our constant theme;
We'll worship thee with all our powers,
Whose mercy doth redeem.

Meter
227, 648, 396

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
9.7.8.6 · the hymnal prints 227, 648, 396
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 57% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABCB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

HOLY and reverend is the name/˘˘/˘˘˘˘/9A
Of our eternal King;˘/˘˘/˘/7B
Thrice holy Lord! the angels cry;//˘/˘/˘/8C
Thrice holy! let us sing.//˘/˘/6B

Verse 2

The deepest reverence of the mind,˘/˘/˘˘˘˘/9A
Pay, O my soul! to God;/˘˘/˘/6B
Lift with thy hands a holy heart/˘//˘/˘/8C
To his sublime abode.˘˘˘/˘/6D

Verse 3

With sacred awe pronounce his name˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
Whom words nor thoughts can reach;˘/˘/˘/6B
A broken heart shall please him more˘/˘/˘/˘/8C
Than noblest forms of speech.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 4

Thou holy God, preserve our souls//˘/˘//˘/9A
From all pollution free;˘/˘/˘/6B
The pure in heart are thy delight,˘/˘/˘/˘/8C
And they thy face shall see.˘˘//˘/6B

Verse 5

Till then thy service shall be ours,////˘˘˘/˘9A
Thy praise our constant theme;///˘/˘/7B
We'll worship thee with all our powers,//˘/˘//˘/˘10A
Whose mercy doth redeem.˘/˘/˘/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.