Analysis of Hymn 89

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



Youth and judgment.

Ye sons of Adam, vain and young,
Indulge your eyes, indulge your tongue,
Taste the delights your souls desire,
And give a loose to all your fire;

Pursue the pleasures you design,
And cheer your hearts with songs and wine;
Enjoy the day of mirth, but know
There is a day of judgment too.

God from on high beholds your thoughts,
His book records your secret faults;
The works of darkness you have done
Must all appear before the sun.

The vengeance to your follies due
Should strike your hearts with terror through:
How will you stand before his face,
Or answer for his injured grace?

Almighty God! turn off their eyes
From these alluring vanities;
And let the thunder of thy word
Awake their souls to fear the Lord.


Scheme X AABB CCXD XXEE DDFF XXXX
Poetic Form
Metre 1010 11110101 01110111 100111010 010111110 01010101 01111101 01011111 11011101 1111111 11011101 01110111 11010101 01011101 11111101 11110111 11011101 01011111 11010100 01010111 01111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 733
Words 138
Sentences 9
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 21
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 97
Words per stanza (avg) 22
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

41 sec read
84

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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