Skip to content

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

Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 308

What grace, O Lord, and beauty shone

Words: Sir Edward DennyMusic: William H. HavergalTune: EvanC. M.

Studio

1What grace, O Lord, and beauty shone
Around thy steps below;
What patient love was seen in all
Thy life and death of woe.

2For, ever on thy burdened heart
A weight of sorrow hung;
Yet no ungentle, murmuring word
Escaped thy silent tongue.

3Thy foes might hate, despise, revile,
Thy friends unfaithful prove;
Unwearied in forgiveness still,
Thy heart could only love.

4O, give us hearts to love like thee!
Like thee, O Lord, to grieve
Far more for others' sins, than all
The wrongs that we receive.

Tune
Evan
Meter
C. M.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
8.6.8.6 · as printed
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 74% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABCB

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

Verse 1

What grace, O Lord, and beauty shone˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
Around thy steps below;˘///˘/6B
What patient love was seen in all˘/˘/˘/˘/8C
Thy life and death of woe.//˘/˘/6B

Verse 2

For, ever on thy burdened heart˘/˘˘//˘/8A
A weight of sorrow hung;˘/˘/˘/6B
Yet no ungentle, murmuring word/˘???/˘˘/9C
Escaped thy silent tongue.˘///˘/6B

Verse 3

Thy foes might hate, despise, revile,//˘/˘/˘/8A
Thy friends unfaithful prove;//˘/˘/6B
Unwearied in forgiveness still,???˘˘/˘/8C
Thy heart could only love.//˘/˘/6D

Verse 4

O, give us hearts to love like thee!˘/˘/˘///8A
Like thee, O Lord, to grieve//˘/˘/6B
Far more for others' sins, than all//˘/˘/˘/8C
The wrongs that we receive.˘/˘˘˘/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.