God, Who Is Just and Kind in Tonic Solfa
God, Who Is Just and Kind in Tonic Solfa to FRANCONIA, doh is Eb: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 4 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dGod,- | rwho-mis-fjust-sand- | mkind,-----sWill- |
| lthose-d'who-ferr-min-- | rstruct,-----sAnd- |
| d'to-tthe-lpaths-sof- | lright--leous--sness-sTheir- |
| dwan--mdering-rsteps-rcon-- | dduct.----- |
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- Key
- Eb major
- Doh
- Eb
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (E♭)
- Range
- d to d' (E♭ to E♭, an octave)
- Tune
- FRANCONIA
- Words
- John Patrick
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FRANCONIA by Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758); words by John Patrick (1632–1695). 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 Eb · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in Eb major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
God, who is just and kind,
Will those who err instruct,
And to the paths of righteousness
Their wandering steps conduct.
The humble soul he guides,
Teaches the meek his way,
Kindness and truth he shows to all
Who his just laws obey.
Give me the tender heart
That mixes fear with love,
And lead me through whatever path
Thy wisdom shall approve.
Oh! ever keep my soul
From error, shame and guilt;
Nor suffer the fair hope to fail,
Which on thy truth is built.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum Eb 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 (E♭), on the word “God”, 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. 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 Patrick wrote these words. They were printed in Hymns for Christian Devotion, compiled by John G. Adams and Edwin H. Chapin (Boston, 1846), as hymn 496 of its twenty-second edition (1853), “The Fatherly Love of God”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked Short Metre (6.6.8.6), to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to FRANCONIA; any other Short Metre tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Patrick (1632–1695)
- Music (1738): Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune FRANCONIA by Johann Balthasar König (1691–1758); words by John Patrick (1632–1695). 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: "No More, on Earth No More, Behold the Lofty Sky, Blest Are the Pure in Heart, Come, All Harmonious Tongues, Father, This Slumber Shake, Forever with the Lord, From Egypt Lately Freed, Glad Was My Heart to Hear, How Sweet to Bless the Lord, How Swift the Torrent Rolls, Jesus Invites His Friends, Jesus, the Friend of Man, Let Every Creature Join, My Father! Cheering Name, O! Know Ye Not That Ye, Our Heavenly Father Calls, Our Lord, Who Knows Full Well, Saviour, Thy Law We Love, Shall Wisdom Cry Aloud, The Lord on High Proclaims, The Year Begins with Thee, This Soul Reviving Wine, To God the Only Wise, Well, the Redeemer's Gone, Within the Father's House.
Questions about God, Who Is Just and Kind
What is the doh of God, Who Is Just and Kind?
In this version, in Eb major, doh is Eb. 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 God, Who Is Just and Kind start on?
It starts on d (E♭ in Eb major), a pickup on the word “God” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is God, Who Is Just and Kind in the public domain?
Yes. John Patrick died in 1695, Johann Balthasar König died in 1758; the words were in print by 1853 and the music in 1738. 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.