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Hymns and Tunes 1886 299

As with glad-some men of old did the guiding star behold

Words: William H. MonkTune: Dix7s 6L

1As with glad-some men of old did the guiding star behold;
As with joyful steps they sped to the lowly manger-bed,
There to bend the knee before Him whom heaven and earth adore;
So may we with willing feet Ever seek the mercy-seat.

2As with joyful steps they sped to the lowly manger-bed,
There to bend the knee before Him whom heaven and earth adore;
So may we with willing feet Ever seek the mercy-seat.

3As they offered gifts most rare at that manger rude and bare;
So may we with holy joy, Pure, and free from sin's alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to thee, our heavenly King.

4Blessed Saviour, every day Keep us in the narrow way;
And, when earthly things are past, Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide, Where no clouds thy glory hide.

Words: William H. Monk
Tune: Dix
Meter: 7s 6L

Public Domain

The verse

Meter: 14.14.15.14 · the hymnal prints 7s 6L
Foot: trochaic (DUM-da) · 42% of beats fit
Rhyme: ABC

Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

As with glad-some men of old did the guiding star behold;˘˘??/˘/˘˘/˘/˘/14A

As with joyful steps they sped to the lowly manger-bed,˘˘/˘/˘/˘˘/˘???14B

There to bend the knee before Him whom heaven and earth adore;/˘/˘/˘/˘˘/˘˘/˘/15C

So may we with willing feet Ever seek the mercy-seat.˘˘˘˘/˘//˘/˘???14D

Verse 2

As with joyful steps they sped to the lowly manger-bed,˘˘/˘/˘/˘˘/˘???14A

There to bend the knee before Him whom heaven and earth adore;/˘/˘/˘/˘˘/˘˘/˘/15B

So may we with willing feet Ever seek the mercy-seat.˘˘˘˘/˘//˘/˘???14C

Verse 3

As they offered gifts most rare at that manger rude and bare;˘˘/˘///˘˘/˘/˘/14A

So may we with holy joy, Pure, and free from sin's alloy,˘˘˘˘/˘//˘/˘///14B

All our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to thee, our heavenly King.//˘/˘˘/˘//˘//˘/˘˘/18C

Verse 4

Blessed Saviour, every day Keep us in the narrow way;//˘˘/˘˘//˘˘˘/˘/15A

And, when earthly things are past, Bring our ransomed souls at last˘//˘/˘///˘/˘/˘/15B

Where they need no star to guide, Where no clouds thy glory hide./˘/˘/˘//˘///˘/14C

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.