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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 381

God's Holy Law, Transgressed

Words: Benjamin Beddome8s, 6s, & 8s

Studio

1God's holy law, transgressed,
Speaks nothing but despair;
Burdened with guilt, with grief oppressed,
No refuge can I bear.

2Not all our groans and tears,
Nor works which we have done,
Nor vows, nor promises, nor prayers,
Can for our sin atone.

3Relief alone is found
In Jesus' precious blood;
'Tis this that heals the mortal wound,
And reconciles to God.

4High lifted on the cross,
The spotless Victim dies;
This is salvation's only source,
Whence all our hopes arise.

Scripture
Romans 3:20; 1 John 1:7; John 3:14-15

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
6.6.8.6 · the hymnal prints 8s, 6s, & 8s
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 55% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABAC
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

God's holy law, transgressed,//˘/˘/6A
Speaks nothing but despair;//˘˘˘/6B
Burdened with guilt, with grief oppressed,/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
No refuge can I bear.˘/˘˘˘/6B

Verse 2

Not all our groans and tears,˘//˘/˘/7A
Nor works which we have done,˘/˘˘˘/6B
Nor vows, nor promises, nor prayers,˘/˘/˘˘˘/8A
Can for our sin atone.˘˘/˘/˘/7C

Verse 3

Relief alone is found˘/˘/˘/6A
In Jesus' precious blood;˘/˘/˘/6B
'Tis this that heals the mortal wound,/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
And reconciles to God.˘/˘/˘/6C

Verse 4

High lifted on the cross,//˘˘˘/6A
The spotless Victim dies;˘/˘/˘/6B
This is salvation's only source,˘˘˘/˘/˘/8C
Whence all our hopes arise.///˘/˘/7B

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.