The Long Meter is stately and dignified. It is the fit expression of noble praise like the Long Meter Doxology, “Lord of all being, throned afar,” “From all that dwell below the skies,” “Before Jehovah’s awful throne,” or elevated sentiment like “God is the refuge of His saints,” “When I survey the wondrous cross,” and “’Tis midnight, and on Olive’s brow.” Its long, even lines, broken by no strong stops, afford a smooth, graceful expression for general truths and Christian doctrine in poetic form, such as “O Jesus, our chief cornerstone,” “Jesus shall reign where’er the sun,” and “O Love! how deep, how broad, how high!” The Common Meter is much more varied in its possibilities of expression, as its unequal lines and alternate rhymes give greater freedom. It is the prevailing meter of the old English ballad. It is really the most adaptable and pliable form of stanza open to the hymn writer, giving equal opportunity of expression to all emotions and classes of truth. It is a fit vehicle alike for the elevated praise of “All hail the power of Jesus’ name,” the majesty of “I sing th’ almighty pow’r of God,” the doctrinal statement of “There is a fountain filled with blood,” the tenderness of “Jesus, the very thought of Thee,” the vigor of “Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve,” and the quiet resignation of “Father, whate’er of earthly bliss.” On account of this adaptability it has become the Common Meter in fact as well as in name. Its exclusive use in some of the collections of metrical psalms shut out the use of tunes in other meters and so led to the singing of only a few of the more popular Common Meter tunes; the result was that the congregational singing in the churches in England, Scotland, and America was nearly wrecked. S. M. might stand for sententious meter as well as for Short Meter, as the two short lines and the long pauses at the end of each of them give it an emphatic, terse, even epigrammatic style. This may be seen in “My soul, be on thy guard,” “Welcome, sweet day of rest,” “Stand up and bless the Lord,” “Crown Him with many crowns,” and “Come, Holy Spirit, come.” John Fawcett was not happy in the selection of this meter for his otherwise very useful and precious hymn, “Blest be the tie that binds,” as the strong pause at the end of the first line in all but one of his stanzas cuts his sentences in two and makes the hymn alike difficult to read and sing. The same difficulty will be found in the reading of other hymns in this meter, the limitations of which have not always been recognized by writers using it. It would be a very slow, heavy meter did not the longer third line give it needed movement. The meter known as 6s lacks the longer third line and is therefore peculiarly grave and disjointed. It is well adapted for hymns of passive faith or resignation, such as “My Jesus, as Thou wilt,” “Thy way, not mine, O Lord,” or for dolorous prayers like “My spirit longs for Thee,” and “I hunger and I thirst.”