Cheer Up, My Soul, There Is a Mercy-seat in Tonic Solfa
Cheer Up, My Soul, There Is a Mercy-seat in Tonic Solfa to SONG TWENTY-TWO, doh is F: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 6 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| sCheer---sup,-mmy- | lsoul,---sthere--- |
| sis-fa-mmer--scy- | rseat------- |
| rSprin----mkled-dwith- | fblood,---rwhere--- |
| sJe--dsus-man--rswers- | dprayer;------- |
| mThere---fhum--sbly- | lcast---lthy---- |
| rself,-sbe--sneath-fehis- | sfeet,------- |
| t,For---dnev--rer- | mnee----fdy--- |
| ssin--lner-rper--rished- | dthere.------- |
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- Key
- F major
- Doh
- F
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- s (C)
- Range
- t, to l (E to D, a seventh)
- Tune
- SONG TWENTY-TWO
- Words
- John Newton
- Music
- Orlando Gibbons
Tune SONG TWENTY-TWO by Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625); words by John Newton (1725–1807). Sources and licences.
The solfa line by line
The same solfa as plain text, a line of the hymn at a time, with the words of the first verse under it — easy to copy into your own notes or a message to the choir. To print it, download the solfa as a PDF.
Doh is F · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in F major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Cheer up, my soul, there is a mercy-seat
Sprinkled with blood, where Jesus answers prayer;
There humbly cast thyself, beneath his feet,
For never needy sinner perished there.
Lord, I am come! thy promise is my plea,
Without thy word I durst not venture nigh;
But thou hast called the burdened soul to thee,
A weary burdened soul, O Lord, am I!
Bowed down beneath a heavy load of sin,
By Satan's fierce temptations sorely pressed,
Beset without, and full of fears within,
Trembling and faint I come to thee for rest.
Be thou my refuge, Lord, my hiding-place,
I know no force can tear me from thy side;
Unmoved I then may all accusers face,
And answer every charge, with, "Jesus died."
Yes, thou didst weep, and bleed, and groan, and die,
Well hast thou known what fierce temptations mean;.
Such was thy love, and now, enthroned on high,
The same compassions in thy bosom reign.
Lord give me faith--he hears--what grace is this!
Dry up thy tears, my soul, and cease to grieve:
He shows me what he did, and who he is,
I must, I will, I can, I do believe.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum F and sing d r m f s up from it, so the whole choir has the key in their ears before you start.
- Pitch the first note. The tune starts on s (C).
- Count the time. 4/4 means four crotchet beats in each bar. In the grid every cell is half a crotchet: a dash (–) holds the note before it, and _ is a rest.
- Know the notes. The tune uses d r m f s l t and the chromatic fe. A comma after a note (s,) is the octave below; an apostrophe (d') is the octave above.
New to solfa? Read how to read Tonic Solfa and how to find the doh of a song.
About the hymn
John Newton wrote these words. They were printed in Olney Hymns (London, 1779), Book III, hymn 11, “The effort”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Tens (10.10.10.10), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to SONG TWENTY-TWO; any other Tens tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Newton (1725–1807)
- Music (1623): Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625)
Tune SONG TWENTY-TWO by Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625); words by John Newton (1725–1807).
Sung to the same tune: Breathe Thoughts of Pity O'er a Brother's Fall, Father! There Is No Change to Live with Thee, Glory to God! the Morn Appointed Breaks, God of the Changing Year, Whose Arm of Power, The Morning Breaks, I Place My Hand in Thine, Though Lonely Be Thy Path, Fear Not, for He.
Questions about Cheer Up, My Soul, There Is a Mercy-seat
What is the doh of Cheer Up, My Soul, There Is a Mercy-seat?
In this version, in F major, doh is F. If your choir sings it in another key, doh moves to the new key note and every solfa syllable stays the same — that is what movable doh means.
What note does Cheer Up, My Soul, There Is a Mercy-seat start on?
It starts on s (C in F major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to s.
Is Cheer Up, My Soul, There Is a Mercy-seat in the public domain?
Yes. John Newton died in 1807, Orlando Gibbons died in 1625; the words were in print by 1779 and the music in 1623. Everyone named died before 1955 and both were published before 1929, so the hymn is out of copyright in the UK, the EU, the United States and Nigeria. Modern arrangements and translations can still be under copyright.