Hymns and Tunes 1886 454
In Mercy, Not in Wrath
Music: Edwin Barnes
1In mercy, not in wrath,
Rebuke thy gracious God!
Lest, if thy whole displeasure rise,
I sink beneath thy rod.
2Touched by thy quickening power,
My load of guilt I feel;
The wounds thy Spirit hath unclosed
O let that Spirit heal!
3In trouble and in gloom,
Must I forever mourn?
And wilt thou not at length, O God,
In pitying love return?
4O come; ere life expire,
Send down thy grace to save;
For what shall sing thy name in death,
Or praise thee in the grave?
- Music
- Edwin Barnes
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 6.6.8.6
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 58% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABCB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
In mercy, not in wrath,˘/˘˘˘/6A
Rebuke thy gracious God!˘///˘/6B
Lest, if thy whole displeasure rise,/˘//˘/˘/8C
I sink beneath thy rod.˘/˘///6B
Verse 2
Touched by thy quickening power,/˘//˘˘/˘8A
My load of guilt I feel;˘/˘/˘/6B
The wounds thy Spirit hath unclosed˘///˘/???9C
O let that Spirit heal!˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 3
In trouble and in gloom,˘/˘˘˘/6A
Must I forever mourn?/˘˘/˘/6B
And wilt thou not at length, O God,˘//˘˘/˘/8C
In pitying love return?˘/˘˘/˘/7D
Verse 4
O come; ere life expire,˘///˘/6A
Send down thy grace to save;////˘/6B
For what shall sing thy name in death,˘˘˘///˘/8C
Or praise thee in the grave?˘//˘˘/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.