Millennial Harp 23
The Living Oracles
1The living oracles of God,
How precious are thy words;
More to be prized than finest gold,
Than honey from the Lord.
2Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
And a light unto my path;
It guides me in the way of peace,
And saves from coming wrath.
3Forever settled in the heavens,
Thy word shall never fail;
Thy testimonies, O my God,
Forever shall prevail.
The verse
- Meter
- 8.6.8.6
- Foot
- iambic (da-DUM) · 58% of beats fit
- Rhyme
- ABCB
Scan every line
/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary
Verse 1
The living oracles of God,˘/˘/˘˘˘/8A
How precious are thy words;//˘˘//6B
More to be prized than finest gold,/˘˘/˘/˘/8C
Than honey from the Lord.˘/˘˘˘/6D
Verse 2
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,//˘˘//˘˘/9A
And a light unto my path;˘˘//˘˘/7B
It guides me in the way of peace,˘/˘˘˘/˘/8C
And saves from coming wrath.˘/˘/˘/6B
Verse 3
Forever settled in the heavens,˘/˘/˘˘˘/˘9A
Thy word shall never fail;//˘/˘/6B
Thy testimonies, O my God,//˘/˘˘˘/8C
Forever shall prevail.˘/˘˘˘/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.