Millennial Harp 22
Behold, He Cometh
1Behold, he cometh with clouds descending,
Once for favored sinners slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending
Swell the triumph of his train.
2Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
God appears on earth to reign;
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
The Lord omnipotent shall reign.
3Every eye shall now behold him,
Robed in dreadful majesty;
Those who set at naught and sold him,
Pierced and nailed him to the tree.
The verse
- Meter
- 10.7.8.7
- Foot
- trochaic (DUM-da) · 60% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABAB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
Behold, he cometh with clouds descending,˘/˘/˘˘/˘/˘10A
Once for favored sinners slain;/˘/˘/˘/7B
Thousand thousand saints attending/˘/˘/˘/˘8A
Swell the triumph of his train./˘/˘˘˘/7B
Verse 2
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!/˘/˘/˘/˘8A
God appears on earth to reign;/˘/˘/˘/7B
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!/˘/˘/˘/˘8A
The Lord omnipotent shall reign.˘/˘/˘˘˘/8B
Verse 3
Every eye shall now behold him,/˘˘/˘/˘/˘9A
Robed in dreadful majesty;/˘/˘/˘˘7B
Those who set at naught and sold him,˘˘/˘/˘/˘8A
Pierced and nailed him to the tree./˘/˘˘˘/7C
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.