Analysis of Psalm 126

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



When God restored our captive state,
Joy was our song, and grace our theme;
The grace beyond our hopes so great
That joy appeared a painted dream.

The scoffer owns thy hand, and pays
Unwilling honors to thy name;
While we with pleasure shout thy praise,
With cheerful notes thy love proclaim.

When we review our dismal fears,
'Twas hard to think they'd vanish so;
With God we left our flowing tears,
He makes our joys like rivers flow.

The man that in his furrowed field
His scattered seed with sadness leaves,
Will shout to see the harvest yield
A welcome load of joyful sheaves.


Scheme ABAB CDCD XEXE FGFG
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 110110101 1110101101 010110111 11010101 0111101 01010111 11110111 11011101 11110101 11111101 111110101 111011101 01101101 11011101 11110101 01011101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 596
Words 109
Sentences 6
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 29
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 115
Words per stanza (avg) 26
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
119

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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