Analysis of Hymn 42
Isaac Watts 1674 (Southampton, Hampshire) – 1748 (Stoke Newington, Middlesex)
Divine wrath and mercy.
Nah. 1:1-3; Heb. 12:29.
Adore and tremble, for our God
Is a consuming fire!
His jealous eyes his wrath inflame,
And raise his vengeance higher.
Almighty vengeance, how it burns!
How bright his fury glows!
Vast magazines of plagues and storms
Lie treasured for his foes.
Those heaps of wrath, by slow degrees,
Are forced into a flame;
But kindled, oh! how fierce they blaze!
And rend all nature's frame.
At his approach the mountains flee,
And seek a wat'ry grave;
The frighted sea makes haste away,
And shrinks up every wave.
Through the wide air the weighty rocks
Are swift as hailstones hurled;
Who dares engage his fiery rage
That shakes the solid world?
Yet, mighty God, thy sovereign grace
Sits regent on the throne;
The refuge of thy chosen race
When wrath comes rushing down.
Thy hand shall on rebellious kings
A fiery tempest pour,
While we beneath thy shelt'ring wings
Thy just revenge adore.
Scheme | A X XBCB XDXD XCXC AEXE XFXF GXGX HIHI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (33%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 011010 11 010101101 1001010 11011101 0111010 01010111 111101 1101101 110111 11111101 110101 11011111 011101 11010101 01011 0111101 0111001 10110101 11111 110111001 110101 11011101 110101 01011101 111101 11110101 0100101 1101111 110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 905 |
Words | 165 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 81 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 18 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
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