Hymns and Tunes 1886 383
Not What These Hands Have Done
Words: Horatius Bonar8s, 6s, & 7s
1Not what these hands have done
Can save this guilty soul;
Not what this toiling flesh has borne
Can make my spirit whole.
2Not what I feel or do
Can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers, and sighs, and tears,
Can bear my awful load.
3Thy work alone, O Christ,
Can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God,
Can give me peace within.
- Words
- Horatius Bonar
- Meter
- 8s, 6s, & 7s
- Scripture
- Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Romans 3:20
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 6.6.8.6 · the hymnal prints 8s, 6s, & 7s
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 85% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABCB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
Not what these hands have done˘˘˘/˘/6A
Can save this guilty soul;˘/˘/˘/6B
Not what this toiling flesh has borne˘˘˘/˘/˘/8C
Can make my spirit whole.˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 2
Not what I feel or do˘˘˘/˘˘6A
Can give me peace with God;˘/˘/˘/6B
Not all my prayers, and sighs, and tears,˘/˘/˘/˘/8C
Can bear my awful load.˘/˘/˘/6D
Verse 3
Thy work alone, O Christ,//˘/˘/6A
Can ease this weight of sin;˘/˘/˘/6B
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God,//˘/˘/˘/8C
Can give me peace within.˘/˘/˘/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.