Hymns and Tunes 1886 373
The Sinner—Christ the Way of Life
Words: Anne SteeleMusic: S. R. BrownTune: MonsonC. M.
1How help - less guilt - y na - ture lies,
Un - con - scious of its load!
The heart, unchanged, can nev - er rise
To hap - pi - ness and God.
2Can aught, beneath a power divine,
The stubborn will subdue?
'Tis thine, almighty Spirit! thine,
To form the heart anew.
3'Tis thine, the passions to recall,
And upward bid them rise;
To make the scales of error fall
From reason's darkened eyes.
4Oh change these wretched hearts of ours,
And give them life divine;
Then shall our passions and our powers,
Almighty Lord! be thine.
- Words
- Anne Steele
- Music
- S. R. Brown
- Tune
- Monson
- Meter
- C. M.
- Scripture
- Ezekiel 36:26; 2 Corinthians 3:18; John 3:5-8
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 8.6.8.6 · as printed
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 81% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABAB
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 · * a word sung short, as “heav’n”
Verse 1
Verse 2
Verse 3
Verse 4
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.