Hymns for Second Advent Believers 36
HEAR WHAT THE VOICE FROM HEAVEN PROCLAIMS
1HEAR what the voice from heaven proclaims,
For all the pious dead:
Sweet is the savor of their names,
And soft their sleeping bed.
2They die in Jesus, and are blessed;
How kind their slumbers are!
From suffering and from sin released,
And freed from every snare.
3Freed from this world of toil and strife,
They're sleeping in the Lord.
Freed from the ills of mortal life,
They wait a rich reward.
Public Domain
The verse
- Meter
- 9.6.8.6
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 56% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABAB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
HEAR what the voice from heaven proclaims,/˘˘/˘/˘˘/9A
For all the pious dead:˘/˘/˘/6B
Sweet is the savor of their names,/˘˘/˘˘˘/8A
And soft their sleeping bed.˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 2
They die in Jesus, and are blessed;˘/˘/˘˘˘/8A
How kind their slumbers are!//˘/˘˘6B
From suffering and from sin released,˘/˘˘˘˘/˘/9C
And freed from every snare.˘/˘/˘˘/7D
Verse 3
Freed from this world of toil and strife,/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
They're sleeping in the Lord.//˘˘˘/6B
Freed from the ills of mortal life,/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
They wait a rich reward.˘/˘/˘/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.