O God of My Salvation, Hear in Tonic Solfa
O God of My Salvation, Hear in Tonic Solfa to MELITA, doh is C: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 9 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dO- | mGod--mofsmy-ssal-- | lva--ltion,-shear,-sAnd- |
| d'help-r'a-tsin--sner- | sto-fedraw-snear-rWith- |
| fbold---fnessmto-mthe- | sthrone--soffegrace:-tHelp- |
| sme-fethy-mben--le-- | sfits-feto-msing,-mAnd- |
| msmile--mtofsee-fme- | fefee---feblysbring-sMy- |
| shum--lble-ssac--mri-- | rfice--dofdpraise.- |
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- Key
- C major
- Doh
- C
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (C)
- Range
- d to r' (C to D, a ninth)
- Tune
- MELITA
- Words
- Charles Wesley, John Wesley
- Music
- John Bacchus Dykes
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune MELITA by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788) or John Wesley (1703–1791). 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 C · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in C major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
O God of my salvation, hear,
And help a sinner to draw near
With boldness to the throne of grace:
Help me thy benefits to sing,
And smile to see me feebly bring
My humble sacrifice of praise.
I cannot praise thee as I would;
But thou art merciful and good,
I know thou never wilt despise
The day of small and feeble things,
But bear me, till on eagles' wings
To all the heights of love I rise.
I thank thee for that gracious taste,
(Which pride would not permit to last)
That touch of love, that pledge of heaven
Surely on me my Father smiled,
And once I knew him reconciled,
And once I felt my sins forgiven.
My Lord and God I then could see,
My Saviour, who hath died for me,
To bring the rebel near to God;
Thou didst, thou didst, thy peace impart;
Pardon was written on my heart,
In largest characters of blood.
Vilest of all the sons of men,
When I to folly turned again,
And sinned against thy light and love,
Grace did much more than sin abound;
Amazed, I still forgiveness found,
And thanked my Advocate above.
Saviour, for this I thank thee now;
My Saviour to the utmost, thou
Hast snatched me from the gates of hell;
That I to all mankind may prove
Thy free, thine everlasting love,
Which all mankind with me may feel.
The boundless love that found out me
For every soul of man is free,
None of thy mercy need despair;
Patient, and pitiful, and kind,
Thee every soul of man may find,
And, freely saved, thy grace declare.
A vile, backsliding sinner, I
Ten thousand deaths deserve to die,
Yet still by sovereign grace I live!
Saviour, to thee I still look up;
I see all open door of hope,
And wait thy fulness to receive.
How shall I thank thee for the grace,
The trust I have to see thy face,
When sin shall all be purged away!
The night of doubts and fears is past;
The morning star appears at last,
And I shall see the perfect day.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum C 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 (C), on the word “O”, 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 Wesley printed these words in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists (1780), hymn 365. They first appeared in a book he and his brother Charles published together, and the Collection's own index cannot say which of the two wrote them.
The book printed the words without tunes. They are in Long Metre, six lines (8.8.8.8.8.8), and this page sets them to MELITA; any other Long Metre, six lines tune fits them as well.
- Words: Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
- Words: John Wesley (1703–1791)
- Music (1861): John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876)
Melody from the Open Hymnal Project (public domain), edited by Brian J. Dumont; tune MELITA by John Bacchus Dykes (1823–1876); words by Charles Wesley (1707–1788) or John Wesley (1703–1791). 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: As Every Day Thy Mercy Spares, Captain of Israel's Host, and Guide, Come, O Thou Prophet of the Lord, Comfort, Ye Ministers of Grace, Eternal Father, Strong to Save, Eternal Lord of Earth and Skies, Expand Thy Wings, Celestial Dove, Father of Jesus Christ the Just, Father of Mercies! God of Peace, Forgive Us for Thy Mercy's Sake, Forth from the Dark and Stormy Sky, Great God, This Sacred Day of Thine, Great God! the Heavens' Well Ordered Frame, He Sendeth Sun, He Sendeth Shower, How Precious Are Thy Thoughts of Peace, How Rich Thy Gifts, Almighty King, I Want the Spirit of Power Within, I'll Praise My Maker While I've Breath, I’ll Praise My Maker Whilst I’ve Breath, Jesus, the Gift Divine I Know, Jesus, with Kindest Pity See, Leader of Israel's Host, and Guide, Let All the Earth Their Voices Raise, Like Israel's Hosts to Exile Driven, Master, I Own Thy Lawful Claim, My Hope Is Built, O Father, — Draw Us After Thee, O Father! Lift Our Souls Above, O God of Peace and Pardoning Love, O God, If Thou Art Love Indeed, O God, Thy Righteousness We Own, O Jesus, to Thy Servants Give, O Lord, My God, I Cry to Thee, O Love, How Cheering Is Thy Ray, O Love, Who Formedst Me to Wear, O, Draw Me, Father, After Thee, O, Still Trust on, If in the Heart, Ours Is a Lovely World, How Fair, Peace, Doubting Heart! My God's I Am, Saviour, to Thee We Humbly Cry, Spirit of Truth, Essential God, Sweet to the Soul the Parting Ray, The Bird That Soars on Highest Wing, The Lord My Pasture Shall Prepare, The People That in Darkness Lay, Thou Art, O God, the Life and Light, Thou Hidden Love of God, Whose Height, Thy Power and Saving Truth to Show, To Christ, the Son, the Father Spake, What Am I, O Thou Glorious God, When in the Clouds the Lord Appears, While Here as Wandering Sheep We Stray, With Grateful Hearts with Joyful Tongues, Within Thy Courts My Praise Shall Rise.
Questions about O God of My Salvation, Hear
What is the doh of O God of My Salvation, Hear?
In this version, in C major, doh is C. 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 O God of My Salvation, Hear start on?
It starts on d (C in C major), a pickup on the word “O” before the first full bar. Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is O God of My Salvation, Hear in the public domain?
Yes. Charles Wesley died in 1788, John Wesley died in 1791, John Bacchus Dykes died in 1876; the words were in print by 1780 and the music in 1861. 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.