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SDA Hymnal 45

Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty

Words: Benjamin SchmolckMusic: Joachim NeanderTune: Unser Herrscher8.7.8.7.7.7

1Open now Thy gates of beauty,
Zion, let me enter there,
Where my soul in joyful duty
Waits for God who answers prayer.
Oh, how blessed is this place,
Filled with solace, light, and grace!

2Gracious God, I come before Thee;
Come Thou also unto me;
Here Thy praise is gladly chanted,
Here Thy seed is duly sown;
Let my soul, where it has planted,
Bring forth precious sheaves alone.

3Here Thy praise is gladly chanted,
Here Thy seed is duly sown;
Let my soul, where it has planted,
Bring forth precious sheaves alone.
So that all I hear may be
Fruitful unto life in me.

4Thou my faith increase and quicken,
Let me keep Thy gift divine;
How so-e'er temptations thicken,
May Thy Word still o'er me shine
As my guiding star through life,
As my comfort in all strife.

5Speak, O God, and I will hear Thee,
Let Thy will be done indeed;
May I, undisturbed, draw near Thee
While Thou dost Thy people feed.
Here of life the fountain flows,
Here is balm for all our woes.

Words: Benjamin Schmolck; tr. Catherine Winkworth
Music: Joachim Neander
Tune: Unser Herrscher
Meter: 8.7.8.7.7.7
Scripture: Psalm 100:4; Psalm 84:1-2; Isaiah 55:11

Public Domain

The verse

Meter: 8.7.8.7.6.7 · the hymnal prints 8.7.8.7.7.7
Foot: trochaic (DUM-da) · 72% of beats fit
Rhyme: ABABCC

Could also be sung to Irby · same meter and stresses; not printed with these words, so try it first.

Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary

Verse 1

Open now Thy gates of beauty,/˘///˘/˘8A

Zion, let me enter there,/˘/˘/˘/7B

Where my soul in joyful duty/˘/˘/˘/˘8A

Waits for God who answers prayer./˘/˘/˘/7B

Oh, how blessed is this place,˘//˘˘/6C

Filled with solace, light, and grace!/˘/˘/˘/7C

Verse 2

Gracious God, I come before Thee;/˘/˘/˘//8A

Come Thou also unto me;///˘/˘˘7A

Here Thy praise is gladly chanted,///˘/˘/˘8B

Here Thy seed is duly sown;///˘/˘/7C

Let my soul, where it has planted,/˘//˘˘/˘8B

Bring forth precious sheaves alone.///˘/˘/7C

Verse 3

Here Thy praise is gladly chanted,///˘/˘/˘8A

Here Thy seed is duly sown;///˘/˘/7B

Let my soul, where it has planted,/˘//˘˘/˘8A

Bring forth precious sheaves alone.///˘/˘/7B

So that all I hear may be˘˘/˘/˘˘7C

Fruitful unto life in me./˘/˘/˘˘7C

Verse 4

Thou my faith increase and quicken,/˘///˘/˘8A

Let me keep Thy gift divine;/˘///˘/7B

How so-e'er temptations thicken,/??˘/˘/˘8A

May Thy Word still o'er me shine˘////˘/7B

As my guiding star through life,˘˘/˘///7C

As my comfort in all strife.˘˘/˘˘//7C

Verse 5

Speak, O God, and I will hear Thee,/˘/˘˘˘//8A

Let Thy will be done indeed;//˘˘///7B

May I, undisturbed, draw near Thee˘˘/˘////8A

While Thou dost Thy people feed./////˘/7B

Here of life the fountain flows,/˘/˘/˘/7C

Here is balm for all our woes./˘/˘/˘/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.