Analysis of Psalm 127

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



The blessing of God on the business and comforts of life.

If God succeed not, all the cost
And pains to build the house are lost;
If God the city will not keep,
The watchful guards as well may sleep.

What if you rise before the sun,
And work and toil when day is done;
Careful and sparing eat your bread,
To shun that poverty you dread;

'Tis all in vain, till God hath blessed;
He can make rich, yet give us rest:
Children and friends are blessings too,
If God our Sovereign make them so.

Happy the man to whom he sends
Obedient children, faithful friends:
How sweet our daily comforts prove
When they are seasoned with his love!


Scheme X XXAA BBCC DDXX EEXX
Poetic Form
Metre 01011101001011 11011101 01110111 11010111 01011111 11110101 01011111 10010111 11110011 11011111 11111111 10011101 111010111 10011111 010010101 111010101 11110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 621
Words 122
Sentences 5
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 17
Letters per line (avg) 29
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 98
Words per stanza (avg) 24
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

36 sec read
90

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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