Analysis of Psalm 22 part 1

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



v.1-16
C. M.
The sufferings and death of Christ.

Why has my God my soul forsook,
Nor will a smile afford?
(Thus David once in anguish spoke,
And thus our dying Lord.)

Though 'tis thy chief delight to dwell
Among thy praising saints,
Yet thou canst hear a groan as well,
And pity our complaints.

Our fathers trusted in thy name,
And great deliv'rance found;
But I'm a worm, despised of men,
And trodden to the ground.

Shaking the head, they pass me by,
And laugh my soul to scorn;
"In vain he trusts in God," they cry,.
"Neglected and forlorn."

But thou art he who formed my flesh
By thine almighty word;
And since I hung upon the breast,
My hope is in the Lord.

Why will my Father hide his face,
When foes stand threat'ning round,
In the dark hour of deep distress,
And not a helper found?

Behold thy darling left among
The cruel and the proud,
As bulls of Bashan, fierce and strong,
As lions roaring loud.

From earth and hell my sorrows meet
To multiply the smart;
They nail my hands, they pierce my feet,
And try to vex my heart.

Yet if thy sovereign hand let loose
The rage of earth and hell,
Why will my heav'nly Father bruise
The Son he loves so well?

My God, if possible it be,
Withhold this bitter cup
But I resign my will to thee,
And drink the sorrows up).

My heart dissolves with pangs unknown,
In groans I waste my breath;
Thy heavy hand has brought me down
Low as the dust of death.

Father, I give my spirit up,
And trust it in thy hand;
My dying flesh shall rest in hope,
And rise at thy command.


Scheme AXX XBXB CDCD XEXE FGFG XXXB XEXE XHXH IJIJ XCXC AKAK XLXL KMXM
Poetic Form
Metre 1 11 01000111 11111101 110101 11010101 0110101 11110111 011101 11110111 0101001 101010011 0111 11010111 010101 10011111 011111 01110111 010001 11111111 110101 01110101 111001 11110111 111111 001101101 010101 01110101 010001 1111101 110101 11011101 11001 11111111 011111 11110111 011101 1111101 011111 11110011 011101 11011111 010101 11011101 011111 11011111 110111 10111101 011011 11011101 011101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,474
Words 299
Sentences 20
Stanzas 13
Stanza Lengths 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 51
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 89
Words per stanza (avg) 22
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:30 min read
80

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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