Analysis of Hymn 15

Isaac Watts 1674 (Southampton, Hampshire) – 1748 (Stoke Newington, Middlesex)



Our own weakness, and Christ our strength.

2 Cor. 12:7,9,10.

Let me but hear my Savior say,
"Strength shall be equal to thy day,"
Then I rejoice in deep distress,
Leaning on all-sufficient grace.

I glory in infirmity,
That Christ's own power may rest on me:
When I am weak, then am I strong,
Grace is my shield, and Christ my song.

I can do all things, or can bear
All suff'rings, if my Lord be there;
Sweet pleasures mingle with the pains,
While his left hand my head sustains.

But if the Lord be once withdrawn,
And we attempt the work alone,
When new temptations spring and rise,
We find how great our weakness is.

[So Samson, when his hair was lost,
Met the Philistines to his cost;
Shook his vain limbs with sad surprise,
Made feeble fight, and lost his eyes.]


Scheme X X AAXX BBCC DDEE XXFX XXFF
Poetic Form
Metre 1011001101 1 11111101 11110111 11010101 10110101 11000100 111101111 11111111 11110111 11111111 1111111 11010101 11111101 11011101 01010101 11010101 111110101 11011111 1010111 11111101 11010111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 753
Words 150
Sentences 9
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 1, 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 22
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 84
Words per stanza (avg) 20
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

45 sec read
70

Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts was an English Christian minister (Congregational), hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. He is recognized as the "Godfather of English Hymnody"; many of his hymns remain in use today and have been translated into numerous languages. more…

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