The first two lines of the first verse are "Word of God, come down on earth, / Living rain from heav'n descending." For both of these lines, the melody (or a section of it) descends, giving a musical impression of that "com[ing] down" and "descending":
The first line of the second verse is "Word eternal, throned on high," in which "eternal" is sung with a melisma. That there are four syllables rather than two gives something of an idea of that long period of time.
The last line of the second verse is "Speak to us, Your love outpouring." Similar to the first two phrases, the melody here descends, musically representing that "outpouring":
