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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 71

Sweet is the memory of thy grace

Words: C. BordenTune: 114, 147, 227

Studio

1Sweet is the memory of thy grace,
My God, my heavenly King;
Let age to age thy righteousness
In psalms of glory sing.

2God reigns on high, but not confines
His goodness to the skies;
Through earth his bounty shines,
And every want supplies.

3With longing eyes thy creatures wait
On thee for daily food;
Thy liberal hand provides their meat,
And fills their mouth with good.

4How kind are thy compassions, Lord;
How slow thine anger moves!
But soon he sends his pardoning word
To cheer the souls he loves.

Tune
114, 147, 227

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
9.7.8.6
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 57% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABCD
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Sweet is the memory of thy grace,/˘˘/˘˘˘//9A
My God, my heavenly King;˘/˘/˘˘/7B
Let age to age thy righteousness//˘///˘˘8C
In psalms of glory sing.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 2

God reigns on high, but not confines//˘/˘˘//8A
His goodness to the skies;˘/˘˘˘/6B
Through earth his bounty shines,//˘/˘/6A
And every want supplies.˘/˘˘/˘/7B

Verse 3

With longing eyes thy creatures wait˘/˘///˘/8A
On thee for daily food;˘/˘/˘/6B
Thy liberal hand provides their meat,///˘/˘/˘/9C
And fills their mouth with good.˘/˘/˘/6D

Verse 4

How kind are thy compassions, Lord;//˘/˘/˘/8A
How slow thine anger moves!////˘/6B
But soon he sends his pardoning word˘/˘/˘/˘˘/9C
To cheer the souls he loves.˘/˘/˘/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.