Analysis of Psalm 119 part 7
Isaac Watts 1674 (Southampton, Hampshire) – 1748 (Stoke Newington, Middlesex)
Imperfection of nature, and perfection of scripture.
ver. 96, paraphrased.
Let all the heathen writers join
To form one perfect book;
Great God! if once compared with thine,
How mean their writings look!
Not the most perfect rules they gave
Could show one sin forgiv'n,
Nor lead a step beyond the grave;
But thine conduct to heav'n.
I've seen an end to what we call
Perfection here below;
How short the powers of nature fall,
And can no further go!
Yet men would fain be just with God
By works their hands have wrought;
But thy commands, exceeding broad,
Extend to every thought.
In vain we boast perfection here,
While sin defiles our frame,
And sinks our virtues down so far,
They scarce deserve the name.
Our faith, and love, and every grace,
Fall far below thy word;
But perfect truth and righteousness
Dwell only with the Lord.
Scheme | X A BCXC DBDB EFEF AAAA XGXG XAXA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101100010110 11 11010101 111011 11110111 111101 10101111 11111 11010101 110111 11111111 010101 110101101 011101 11111111 111111 11010101 0111001 01110101 111101 011010111 110101 1010101001 110111 10110100 110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 816 |
Words | 150 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 26 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 82 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 19 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 58 Views
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"Psalm 119 part 7" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/19659/psalm-119-part-7>.
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