Hymns for Second Advent Believers 109
MY BIBLE
1O GIVE me my Bible–the statutes of heaven–
Its great constitution I know to be pure;
Its laws and its by-laws in justice are given,
And all is divine, and unalterably sure.
I love when I read them, in love they were blended,
Nor one disannulled since the time they were framed,
No foul legislation has ever amended
One jot or one tittle that therein is named,
The old-fashioned Bible, the dear blessed Bible,
The family Bible, that lays on the stand.
2Tho' thousands have written a substitute for them,
To sway over others the sceptre and sword;
Yet ever unaltered these laws lie before them,
Unchanged and immutable–word of the Lord.
Then give me my Bible, and let me obey it,
Instead of the statutes and doctrines of men;
Aside for a moment, forbid I should lay it,
To listen and argue for dogmas again.
The old-fashioned Bible, the dear blessed Bible,
The family Bible, that lays on the stand.
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 12.11.12.12.12.12.12.11.11.11
- Foot
- trochaic (DUM-da) · 31% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABCBDEDEFG
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
Verse 2
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.