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Hymns and Tunes 1886 76

Begin, my tongue, some heavenly theme

Words: Isaac WattsTune: 120, 76, 305

1Begin, my tongue, some heavenly theme,
And speak some boundless thing—
The mighty works or mightier name
Of our eternal King.

2Tell of his wondrous faithfulness,
And sound his power abroad;
Sing the sweet promise of his grace
And the performing God.

3His every word of grace is strong
As that which built the skies;
The voice that rolls the stars along
Speaks all the promises.

4Let every tongue his goodness speak,
The sovereign Lord of all;
Whose gracious hands uphold the weak,
And raise the poor that fall.

5O, might I hear that heavenly tongue
But whisper, "Thou art mine!"
Those gentle words should raise my song
To notes almost divine.

Tune
120, 76, 305

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
9.6.9.7
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 56% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABCB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Begin, my tongue, some heavenly theme,˘/˘///˘˘/9A
And speak some boundless thing—˘///˘/6B
The mighty works or mightier name˘/˘/˘/˘˘/9C
Of our eternal King.˘/˘˘/˘/7B

Verse 2

Tell of his wondrous faithfulness,/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
And sound his power abroad;˘/˘/˘˘/7B
Sing the sweet promise of his grace/˘//˘˘˘/8C
And the performing God.˘˘˘/˘/6D

Verse 3

His every word of grace is strong˘/˘˘/˘/˘/9A
As that which built the skies;˘˘˘/˘/6B
The voice that rolls the stars along˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
Speaks all the promises.//˘/˘˘6C

Verse 4

Let every tongue his goodness speak,//˘˘/˘/˘/9A
The sovereign Lord of all;˘/˘/˘/6B
Whose gracious hands uphold the weak,˘/˘/˘/˘/8A
And raise the poor that fall.˘/˘/˘/6B

Verse 5

O, might I hear that heavenly tongue˘˘˘/˘/˘˘/9A
But whisper, "Thou art mine!"˘/˘///6B
Those gentle words should raise my song˘/˘/˘/˘/8C
To notes almost divine.˘///˘/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.