Hymns and Tunes 1886 455
I Seek the Mercy-Seat
Music: Frank M. Davis
1I seek the mercy-seat,
Where'er thou hast thy prayer;
There humbly fall before thy feet,
For none can perish there.
2Thy promise is my plea;
With this I venture nigh:
Thou callest burdened souls to thee,
And such, O Lord, am I.
3Bowed down beneath my sin,
By Satan sorely pressed,
By wars without and fears within,
I come to thee for rest.
4Be thou my hiding-place;
That, sheltered near thy side,
I may rejoice in Jesus' grace—
In Jesus crucified.
- Music
- Frank M. Davis
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 6.7.8.6
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 78% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABCB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
I seek the mercy-seat,˘/˘???6A
Where'er thou hast thy prayer;???////7B
There humbly fall before thy feet,//˘/˘///8C
For none can perish there.˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 2
Thy promise is my plea;//˘˘˘/6A
With this I venture nigh:˘˘˘/˘/6B
Thou callest burdened souls to thee,//˘/˘/˘/8A
And such, O Lord, am I.˘/˘/˘˘6B
Verse 3
Bowed down beneath my sin,//˘/˘/6A
By Satan sorely pressed,˘/˘/˘/6B
By wars without and fears within,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
I come to thee for rest.˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 4
Be thou my hiding-place;˘/˘???6A
That, sheltered near thy side,˘/˘///6B
I may rejoice in Jesus' grace—˘˘˘/˘/˘/8C
In Jesus crucified.˘/˘/˘/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.