Skip to content

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

Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 304

How shall I follow Him I serve? How shall I copy Him

Words: John BowringMusic: Ludwig von BeethovenTune: GermanyL.M.

Studio

1How shall I follow Him I serve? How shall I copy Him
Nor from those blessed footsteps swerve Which lead me to his seat above?

2Lord, should my path through suffering lie, Forbid that I should e'er repine;
Still let me turn to Calvary, Nor heed my grief, remembering thine.

3O, let me think how thou didst leave
Thy heavenly home of pure delights,
To fast, to faint, to watch, to grieve,
Through toilsome days, through lonely nights!

4All this thou didst, then died for me! Thou camest not thyself to please;
And, dear though earthly comforts be, Shall I not love thee more than these?

Meter
L.M.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
14.15 · the hymnal prints L.M.
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 44% of beats fit
Rhyme
AB
Scan every line

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

Verse 1

How shall I follow Him I serve? How shall I copy Him/˘˘/˘˘˘//˘˘/˘˘14A
Nor from those blessed footsteps swerve Which lead me to his seat above?˘˘˘////˘/˘˘˘/˘/15B

Verse 2

Lord, should my path through suffering lie, Forbid that I should e'er repine;/˘˘///˘˘/˘/˘˘˘/??17A
Still let me turn to Calvary, Nor heed my grief, remembering thine.//˘/˘/˘˘˘/˘/˘/˘˘/17B

Verse 3

O, let me think how thou didst leave˘/˘/////8A
Thy heavenly home of pure delights,//˘/˘/˘/8B*
To fast, to faint, to watch, to grieve,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
Through toilsome days, through lonely nights!/??///˘/8B

Verse 4

All this thou didst, then died for me!/˘////˘˘8A
Thou camest not thyself to please;//˘˘//˘/8B
And, dear though earthly comforts be,˘///˘/˘˘8A
Shall I not love thee more than these?˘˘˘///˘˘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.