Analysis of Psalm 19

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



The books of nature and of Scripture compared.

THE heav'ns declare thy glory, Lord,
In every star thy wisdom shines
But when our eyes behold thy word,
We read thy name in fairer lines.

The rolling sun, the changing light,
And nights and days, thy power confess
But the blest volume thou hast writ
Reveals thy justice and thy grace.

Sun, moon, and stars convey thy praise
Round the whole earth, and never stand:
So when thy truth begun its race,
It touched and glanced on every land.

Nor shall thy spreading gospel rest
Till through the world thy truth has run,
Till Christ has all the nations blest
That see the light or feel the sun.

Great Sun of Righteousness, arise,
Bless the dark world with heav'nly light;
Thy gospel makes the simple wise,
Thy laws are pure, thy judgments right.

Thy noblest wonders here we view
In souls renewed and sins forgiv'n;
Lord, cleanse my sins, my soul renew,
And make thy word my guide to heaven.


Scheme X XAXA BXXC XDCD EFEF GBGB HFHF
Poetic Form Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 01110011001 01011101 010011101 111010111 11110101 01010101 010111001 10110111 01110011 11010111 10110101 11110111 110111001 11110101 11011111 11110101 11011101 11110001 1011111 11010101 11111101 11010111 0101011 11111101 011111110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 914
Words 171
Sentences 8
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 25
Letters per line (avg) 29
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 104
Words per stanza (avg) 24
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 02, 2023

52 sec read
107

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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