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Advent Hymnals

Hymns and Tunes 1886 94

Mighty God! while angels bless thee

Words: Robert RobinsonTune: 271, 180, 41

Studio

1Mighty God! while angels bless thee,
May a mortal lisp thy name?
Lord of men, as well as angels,
Thou art every creature's theme.

2Lord of every land and nation!
Ancient of eternal days!
Sounded through the wide creation
Be thy just and awful praise.

3For the grandeur of thy nature—
Grand beyond a seraph's thought;
For the wonders of creation,
Works with skill and kindness wrought;

4For thy providence, that governs
Through thine empire's wide domain,
Wings an angel, guides a sparrow—
Blessed be thy gentle reign.

5For thy rich, thy free redemption—
Bright, though veiled in darkness long—
Thought is poor, and poor expression;
Who can sing that wondrous song?

6Christ, the brightness of thy glory,
By thy mercy came to die;
How can mortal tongue be silent?
How can praise unmuttered lie?

7Leaving all our sins' exaltation,
Bearing all our sins and woe—
O, what love divine was shown us!
Plow, my praise, forever flow.

Tune
271, 180, 41

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
8.7.8.8
Foot
trochaic (DUM-da) · 60% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABCB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Mighty God! while angels bless thee,/˘///˘//8A
May a mortal lisp thy name?˘˘/˘///7B
Lord of men, as well as angels,/˘/˘/˘/˘8C
Thou art every creature's theme.///˘˘/˘/8D

Verse 2

Lord of every land and nation!/˘/˘˘/˘/˘9A
Ancient of eternal days!/˘˘˘/˘/7B
Sounded through the wide creation/˘/˘/˘/˘8A
Be thy just and awful praise.˘//˘/˘/7B

Verse 3

For the grandeur of thy nature—˘˘˘/˘//˘8A
Grand beyond a seraph's thought;/˘/˘??/7B
For the wonders of creation,˘˘/˘˘˘/˘8C
Works with skill and kindness wrought;/˘/˘/˘/7B

Verse 4

For thy providence, that governs˘//˘˘˘/˘8A
Through thine empire's wide domain,///˘˘/˘/8B
Wings an angel, guides a sparrow—/˘/˘/˘/˘8C
Blessed be thy gentle reign./˘//˘/6B

Verse 5

For thy rich, thy free redemption—˘////˘/˘8A
Bright, though veiled in darkness long—///˘/˘/7B
Thought is poor, and poor expression;/˘/˘/˘/˘8C
Who can sing that wondrous song?˘˘/˘/˘/7B

Verse 6

Christ, the brightness of thy glory,/˘/˘˘//˘8A
By thy mercy came to die;˘//˘/˘/7B
How can mortal tongue be silent?/˘/˘/˘/˘8C
How can praise unmuttered lie?/˘/????/8B

Verse 7

Leaving all our sins' exaltation,/˘//˘/????10A
Bearing all our sins and woe—/˘//˘/˘/8B
O, what love divine was shown us!˘˘/˘/˘/˘8C
Plow, my praise, forever flow./˘/˘/˘/7B

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.