Precious Bible! What a Treasure in Tonic Solfa
Precious Bible! What a Treasure in Tonic Solfa to KALMAR, doh is G: the solfa with the words, staff notation, 6 verses and a piano.
The solfa with the words
| dPre--dcious-l,Bi--l,ble!- | t,what-s,a-dtrea--dsure- |
| mDoes-fthe-rword-sof- | sGod-feaf--sford?--- |
| dAll-dI-l,want-l,for- | t,life-s,or-dplea--dsure,- |
| mFood-fand-rMed'--sCine,- | sShield-feand-sSword:--- |
| sLet-mthe-lworld-sac-- | fcount-mme-rpoor,--- |
| mHav--ding-fthis-mI- | rneed-rno-dmore.--- |
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- Key
- G major
- Doh
- G
- Time
- 4/4
- Starts on
- d (G)
- Range
- s, to l (D to E, a ninth)
- Tune
- KALMAR
- Words
- John Newton
- Music
- Swedish Traditional
Tune KALMAR (Swedish Traditional); 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 G · 4/4
Staff notation
The melody on the treble staff in G major, with the first verse under the notes.
The staff is drawn here when you scroll to it.
The words
Precious Bible! what a treasure
Does the word of God afford?
All I want for life or pleasure,
Food and Med'Cine, Shield and Sword:
Let the world account me poor,
Having this I need no more.
Food to which the world's a stranger,
Here my hungry soul enjoys
Of excess there is no danger,
Though it fills, it never cloys:
On a dying Christ I feed,
He is meat and drink indeed.
When my faith is faint and sickly,
Or when Satan wounds my mind,
Cordials, to revive me quickly,
Healing Med'Cines here I find:
To the promises I flee,
Each affords a remedy.
In the hour of dark temptation
Satan cannot make me yield;
For the word of consolation
Is to me a mighty Shield
While the scripture-truths are sure,
From his malice I'm secure.
Vain his threats to overcome me,
When I take the Spirits' Sword;
Then with ease I drive him from me.
Satan trembles at the word:
'Tis a sword for conquest made,
Keen the edge, and strong the blade.
Shall I envy then the miser
Doting on his golden store?
Sure I am, or should be, wiser,
I am Rich, 'tis he is Poor:
Jesus gives me in his word,
Food and Med'Cine, Shield and Sword.
How to sing it from the solfa
- Find doh first. Play or hum G 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 (G).
- 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 II, hymn 63, “The word more precious than gold”.
The book printed the words without tunes, marked 8.7.8.7.7.7, to be sung to any tune of that metre. This page sets them to KALMAR; any other 8.7.8.7.7.7 tune fits them as well.
- Words: John Newton (1725–1807)
- Melody (1676): Swedish Traditional
Tune KALMAR (Swedish Traditional); words by John Newton (1725–1807).
Sung to the same tune: Christ Is Born, Go Forth to Meet Him, Hark! Ten Thousand Harps and Voices, In the Bliss of Old Predicted, Jesus, Brightness of the Father, Let Us Love, and Sing, and Wonder, One There Is, Above All Others, Through the Day Thy Love Hath Spared Us, Who Is This That Comes from Edom, Yes! Since God Himself Has Said It.
Questions about Precious Bible! What a Treasure
What is the doh of Precious Bible! What a Treasure?
In this version, in G major, doh is G. 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 Precious Bible! What a Treasure start on?
It starts on d (G in G major). Find doh first, then sing up or down to d.
Is Precious Bible! What a Treasure in the public domain?
Yes. John Newton died in 1807; the words were in print by 1779 and the music in 1676. 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.