Skip to content

A copy of Advent Hymnals. Open this page on adventhymnals.org →

SDA Hymnal 386

The Sacred Anthem

Words: AnonymousMusic: TraditionalTune: SACRED ANTHEM8.8.8.8.8.8.

1The sacred anthem slowly rang
Across the fields of praise,
When earth's first Sabbath made complete
All creatures and all days.
Walking with God, there,
Woman and man together share
The blessed Sabbath mood;
And in that green and golden world
Know all God's works are good.

2But now in our diminished lives
We sing a blemished song;
The earth is worn and disarrayed
And all our work goes wrong.
Still in our sinful worship,
Joining in praise and fellowship,
By Sabbath we are blessed,
We put our doubt and fear away
And rest within God's rest.

3And arching over time and space
The Lord of Sabbaths wills
Renewal for the weary earth
And healing for our ills.
Hearts will rejoice then;
There will be no more weeping, when
We know and shall be known.
With hosts of the redeemed we'll sing
Around God's shining throne.

Words: Anonymous
Music: Traditional
Tune: SACRED ANTHEM
Meter: 8.8.8.8.8.8.
Scripture: Genesis 2:2-3; Revelation 21:1-4

Public Domain

The verse

Meter: 8.6.8.6.5.8.5.8.6 · the hymnal prints 8.8.8.8.8.8.
Foot: iambic (da-DUM) · 53% of beats fit
Rhyme: ABCBDDEFG

Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

The sacred anthem slowly rang˘/˘/˘/˘/8A

Across the fields of praise,˘/˘/˘/6B

When earth's first Sabbath made complete////˘/˘/8C

All creatures and all days.//˘˘//6B

Walking with God, there,/˘˘//5D

Woman and man together share/˘˘/˘/˘/8D

The blessed Sabbath mood;˘//˘/5E

And in that green and golden world˘˘˘/˘/˘/8F

Know all God's works are good.////˘/6G

Verse 2

But now in our diminished lives˘/˘/˘˘/˘/9A

We sing a blemished song;˘/˘/˘/6B

The earth is worn and disarrayed˘/˘/˘/˘/8C

And all our work goes wrong.˘//˘///7B

Still in our sinful worship,/˘/˘/˘/˘8D

Joining in praise and fellowship,/˘˘/˘/˘/8E

By Sabbath we are blessed,˘/˘˘˘/6F

We put our doubt and fear away˘//˘/˘/˘/9G

And rest within God's rest.˘/˘///6F

Verse 3

And arching over time and space˘/˘/˘/˘/8A

The Lord of Sabbaths wills˘/˘/˘/6B

Renewal for the weary earth˘/˘˘˘/˘/8C

And healing for our ills.˘/˘˘/˘/7B

Hearts will rejoice then;/˘˘//5D

There will be no more weeping, when/˘˘˘//˘/8D

We know and shall be known.˘/˘˘˘/6E

With hosts of the redeemed we'll sing˘/˘˘˘///8F

Around God's shining throne.˘///˘/6E

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.