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Hymns and Tunes 1886 409

This Is My Father's World

Words: Maltbie BabcockTune: Terra BeataS.M.D.

1This is my Father's world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.

2This is my Father's world,
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker's praise.
This is my Father's world:
He shines in all that's fair;
In the rustling grass I hear him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.

3This is my Father's world,
O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
The battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and heaven be one.

Meter
S.M.D.
Scripture
Psalm 24:1; Revelation 21:1

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
6.6.8.6.6.6.8.6 · as printed
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 64% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABCBADED
Scan every line

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

Verse 1

This is my Father's world,˘˘˘/˘/6A
And to my listening ears˘˘˘/˘/6B
All nature sings, and round me rings//˘/˘/˘/8C
The music of the spheres.˘/˘˘˘/6B
This is my Father's world:˘˘˘/˘/6A
I rest me in the thought˘/˘˘˘/6D
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;˘/˘/˘/˘/8E
His hand the wonders wrought.˘/˘/˘/6D

Verse 2

This is my Father's world,˘˘˘/˘/6A
The birds their carols raise,˘/˘/˘/6B
The morning light, the lily white,˘/˘/˘/˘/8C
Declare their Maker's praise.˘/˘/˘/6B
This is my Father's world:˘˘˘/˘/6A
He shines in all that's fair;˘/˘///6D
In the rustling grass I hear him pass;˘˘/˘/˘/˘/9E
He speaks to me everywhere.˘/˘˘/˘/7D

Verse 3

This is my Father's world,˘˘˘/˘/6A
O let me ne'er forget˘/˘/˘/6B
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,˘/˘///˘/8C
God is the ruler yet./˘˘/˘/6B
This is my Father's world:˘˘˘/˘/6A
The battle is not done;˘/˘˘˘/6D
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,/˘˘/˘˘/˘/9E
And earth and heaven be one.˘/˘/˘/6D*

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.