Encouraged by Thy Word in Tonic Solfa
Encouraged by Thy Word in Tonic Solfa to DARWALL, doh is D: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 8 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dEn-- | mcour--daged-sby-mthy- | d'word-----tOf- |
| lpro--smise-fto-mthe- | rpoor;-----rBe-- |
| mhold,-da-lbeg--sgar,- | feLord,-rWaits-r'at-d'thy- |
| tmer----lcy's--- | sdoor!-----sNo- |
| lhand,---tno--- | d'heart,-----dO- |
| rLord,-mbut-fthine,-sCan- | lhelp-tor-d'pi--r'ty- |
| d'wants---tlike--- | d'mine.----- |
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- Key
- D major
- Doh
- D
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (D)
- Range
- d to r' (D to E, a ninth)
- Tune
- DARWALL
- Words
- John Newton
- Music
- John Darwall
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune DARWALL by John Darwall (1731–1789); 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 D · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in D major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Encouraged by thy word
Of promise to the poor;
Behold, a beggar, Lord,
Waits at thy mercy's door!
No hand, no heart, O Lord, but thine,
Can help or pity wants like mine.
The beggar's usual plea
Relief from men to gain,
If offered unto thee,
I know thou would'st disdain:
And pleas which move thy gracious ear,
Are such as men would scorn to hear.
I have no right to say
That though I now am poor,
Yet once there was a day
When I possessed more:
Thou know'st that from my very birth,
I've been the poorest wretch on earth.
Nor can I dare profess,
As beggars often do,
Though great is my distress,
My wants have been but few:
If thou shouldst leave my soul to starve,
It would be what I well deserve.
'Twere folly to pretend
I never begged before;
Or if thou now befriend,
I'll trouble thee no more:
Thou often hast relieved my pain,
And often I must come again.
Though crumbs are much too good
For such a dog as I;
No less than children's food
My soul can satisfy:
O do not frown and bid me go,
I must have all thou canst bestow.
Nor can I willing be
Thy bounty to conceal
From others, who like me,
Their wants and hunger feel:
I'll tell them of thy mercy's store,
And try to send a thousand more.
Thy thoughts, thou only wise!
Our thoughts and ways transcend,
Far as the arched skies
Above the earth extend:
Such pleas as mine men would not bear,
But God receives a beggar's prayer.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum D 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 d (D), on the first syllable of “Encouraged”, as a pickup before the first full bar.
- 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 I, hymn 81, “The beggar. Mt 7:7-8”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Hallelujah Metre (6.6.6.6.8.8), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to DARWALL; any other Hallelujah Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Newton (1725–1807)
- Music (1770): John Darwall (1731–1789)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune DARWALL by John Darwall (1731–1789); words by John Newton (1725–1807). The Open Hymnal Project publishes this tune as public domain; NoteFusion's engine wrote the solfa from its notes. The melody has not yet been checked against a printed hymn book.
Sung to the same tune: A Worldling Spent Each Day, All, from the Sun's Uprise, Amazing, Beauteous Change, Before Elisha's Gate, Hark! What Celestial Notes, I Have No Tears to Shed, Israel in Ancient Days, Lord of the Worlds Above, On What Has Now Been Sown, Rejoice, the Lord Is King, Thou Fount of Love and Grace, To Thee, Our God, We Fly, Ye Realms Below the Skies, Young Men and Maidens, Raise.
Questions about Encouraged by Thy Word
What is the doh of Encouraged by Thy Word?
In this version, in D major, doh is D. 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 Encouraged by Thy Word start on?
It starts on d (D in D major), a pickup on the first syllable of “Encouraged” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Encouraged by Thy Word in the public domain?
Yes. John Newton died in 1807, John Darwall died in 1789; the words were in print by 1779 and the music in 1770. 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.