Hymns and Tunes 1886 486
I want a principle within
Words: Charles WesleyTune: MOUNT BETHELC. M. D.
1I want a principle within
Of jealous, godly fear;
I want the first approach to feel,
Of pride or fond desire;
To catch the wandering of my will,
And quench the kindling fire.
2From thee that I no more may part,
No more thy goodness grieve,
The filial awe, the fleshly heart,
The tender conscience, give.
Quick as the apple of an eye,
O God, my conscience make;
Awake my soul when sin is nigh,
And keep it still awake.
3If to the right or left I stray,
That moment, Lord, reprove;
And let me weep my life away
For having grieved thy love.
O may the least omission pain
My well-instructed soul!
And drive me to the blood again
Which makes the wounded whole.
- Words
- Charles Wesley
- Tune
- MOUNT BETHEL
- Meter
- C. M. D.
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 8.6.8.7.9.7 · the hymnal prints C. M. D.
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 77% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABCDED
Could also be sung to Carol, Jerusalem, Ellacombe, Kingsfold, Varina · same meter and stresses; not printed with these words, so try it first.
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
Verse 2
Verse 3
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.