Hymns and Tunes 1886 439
Salvation
Words: Isaac Watts
1Salvation!—O, the joyful sound!
That charms our ears;
A sovereign balm for every wound,
A cordial for our fears.
2Buried in sorrow and in sin,
At hell's dark door we lay;
But we arise by grace divine,
To see a heavenly day.
3Salvation!—let the echo fly
The spacious earth around,
While all the armies of the sky
Conspire to raise the sound.
- Words
- Isaac Watts
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 8.5.9.7
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 56% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABAB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
Salvation!—O, the joyful sound!˘/˘˘˘/˘/8A
That charms our ears;˘//˘/5B
A sovereign balm for every wound,˘/˘/˘/˘˘/9A
A cordial for our fears.˘/˘˘/˘/7B
Verse 2
Buried in sorrow and in sin,/˘˘/˘˘˘/8A
At hell's dark door we lay;˘///˘/6B
But we arise by grace divine,˘˘˘/˘/˘/8C
To see a heavenly day.˘/˘/˘˘/7B
Verse 3
Salvation!—let the echo fly˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
The spacious earth around,˘/˘/˘/6B
While all the armies of the sky//˘/˘˘˘/8A
Conspire to raise the sound.˘/˘˘/˘/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.