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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 312

We may not climb the heavenly steeps

Words: John G. WhittierMusic: William V. WallaceTune: InvitationC. M.

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1We may not climb the heavenly steeps
To bring the Lord Christ down;
In vain we search the lowest deeps,
For him no depths can drown.

2But warm, sweet, tender, even yet
A present help is he;
And faith has yet its Olivet,
And love its Galilee.

3The healing of the seamless dress
Is by our beds of pain;
We touch him in life's throng and press,
And we are whole again.

4Through him the first fond prayers are said
Our lips of childhood frame;
The last low whispers of our dead
Are burdened with his name.

5O Lord and Master of us all,
Whate'er our name or sign,
We own thy sway, we hear thy call,
We test our lives by thine!

Also sung to
Immortal Love (SDA Hymnal #455)
Meter
C. M.

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
8.6.8.6 · as printed
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 69% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABAB
Scan every line

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

Verse 1

We may not climb the heavenly steeps˘˘˘/˘/˘/8A*
To bring the Lord Christ down;˘/˘///6B
In vain we search the lowest deeps,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
For him no depths can drown.˘˘˘/˘/6B

Verse 2

But warm, sweet, tender, even yet˘///˘/˘/8A
A present help is he;˘/˘/˘˘6B
And faith has yet its Olivet,˘/˘/˘???8C
And love its Galilee.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 3

The healing of the seamless dress˘/˘˘˘/˘/8A
Is by our beds of pain;˘˘˘/˘/6B
We touch him in life's throng and press,˘/˘˘//˘/8A
And we are whole again.˘˘˘/˘/6C

Verse 4

Through him the first fond prayers are said/˘˘///˘/8A
Our lips of childhood frame;˘/˘///6B
The last low whispers of our dead˘///˘˘˘/8A
Are burdened with his name.˘/˘˘˘/6B

Verse 5

O Lord and Master of us all,˘/˘/˘˘˘/8A
Whate'er our name or sign,???˘/˘/7B
We own thy sway, we hear thy call,˘///˘///8A
We test our lives by thine!˘/˘/˘/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.