{"slug": "sweet-hour-of-prayer", "title": "Sweet Hour of Prayer", "first_line": "Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer", "author": "william-w-walford", "author_date": "1845", "foot": "iambic", "meter": {"pattern": [8, 8, 8, 8], "doubled": true, "refrain": false, "alleluia": false, "irregular": false}, "topics": ["Prayer", "Devotion", "Communion with God", "Comfort"], "scripture": ["Matthew 6:6", "Psalm 55:17", "Luke 18:1", "1 Thessalonians 5:17"], "provenance": {"layer": "text", "source": "methodist-hymnal-1905", "source_kind": "hand_encoded", "pd_basis": "pub_pre_1931", "pd_evidence": "Transcribed word for word and point for point from the dated printing in The Methodist Hymnal (New York: Eaton & Mains; Cincinnati: Jennings & Graham, 1905), hymn 516, printed page 364 \u2014 archive.org methodi00meth leaf n375 \u2014 and re-read on a second scan of the same page, archive.org methodisthymnal01churgoog leaf n382, which is the sharper of the two and is what the pointing below was taken from. That page sets these three stanzas over Bradbury's SWEET HOUR and signs them \"William W. Walford\" at the foot, so the text-and-tune pairing carried here is the printed one and not an editorial choice. US public domain: the printing read is itself pre-1931. The hymn is generally traced to a piece printed in the New York Observer of 13 September 1845, where Thomas Salmon said he had taken it down from the dictation of a blind lay preacher at Coleshill, Warwickshire; the identification of that preacher with the Congregational minister William Walford is a later conjecture. NEITHER the 1845 printing NOR any account of it was opened for this record \u2014 the 1845 date is the received one and the people.yaml entry therefore carries no dates. NO EDITORIAL CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE WORDS OR THE POINTING. In particular the page's own capitalisation is kept, including \"To Him,\" in stanza 2 line 3 against lower-case \"he\", \"his\" and \"him\" in the same stanza, and so is the comma in \"And bids me, at my Father's throne,\" in stanza 1. ONE TYPOGRAPHIC DEPARTURE: stanza 3's first line, which the page sets with a compositor's turn bracket (\"Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of / ... [prayer,\") because the column is too narrow, is written out in full here. The metre is L.M.D. \u2014 eight lines of eight syllables, 64 syllables against the tune's 67 soprano noteheads (three two-note melismas).", "pd_jurisdictions": {"US": true}}, "stanzas": {"1": {"syllabified": "Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, That calls me from a world of care, And bids me, at my Fa -- ther's throne, Make all my wants and wish -- es known! In sea -- sons of dis -- tress and grief, My soul has oft -- en found re -- lief, And oft es -- caped the tempt -- er's snare, By thy re -- turn, sweet hour of prayer.", "prose": ["Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer,", "That calls me from a world of care,", "And bids me, at my Father's throne,", "Make all my wants and wishes known!", "In seasons of distress and grief,", "My soul has often found relief,", "And oft escaped the tempter's snare,", "By thy return, sweet hour of prayer."]}, "2": {"syllabified": "Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, Thy wings shall my pe -- ti -- tion bear To Him, whose truth and faith -- ful -- ness En -- gage the wait -- ing soul to bless: And since he bids me seek his face, Be -- lieve his word, and trust his grace, I'll cast on him my ev -- ery care, And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer.", "prose": ["Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer,", "Thy wings shall my petition bear", "To Him, whose truth and faithfulness", "Engage the waiting soul to bless:", "And since he bids me seek his face,", "Believe his word, and trust his grace,", "I'll cast on him my every care,", "And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer."]}, "3": {"syllabified": "Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, May I thy con -- so -- la -- tion share, Till, from Mount Pis -- gah's loft -- y height, I view my home, and take my flight: This robe of flesh I'll drop, and rise, To seize the ev -- er -- last -- ing prize; And shout, while pass -- ing through the air, Fare -- well, fare -- well, sweet hour of prayer!", "prose": ["Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer,", "May I thy consolation share,", "Till, from Mount Pisgah's lofty height,", "I view my home, and take my flight:", "This robe of flesh I'll drop, and rise,", "To seize the everlasting prize;", "And shout, while passing through the air,", "Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!"]}}, "license": "The hymn texts and tunes are in the public domain; per-layer provenance is recorded on each record."}