Analysis of Psalm 40 Part 1

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



v.1-8,5,17
C. M.
A song of deliverance from great distress.

I waited patient for the Lord,
He bowed to hear my cry;
He saw me resting on his word,
And brought salvation nigh.

He raised me from a horrid pit,
Where mourning long I lay,
And from my bonds released my feet,
Deep bonds of miry clay.

Firm on a rock he made me stand,
And taught my cheerful tongue
To praise the wonders of his hand,
In a new thankful song.

I'll spread his works of grace abroad;
The saints with joy shall hear,
And sinners learn to make my God
Their only hope and fear.

How many are thy thoughts of love!
Thy mercies, Lord, how great!
We have not words nor hours enough,
Their numbers to repeat.

When I 'm afflicted, poor, and low,
And light and peace depart,
My God beholds my heavy woe,
And bears me on his heart.


Scheme XXX XAXA XBCB DXDX XXXX XXXC EFEF
Poetic Form
Metre 1 11 01101001101 11010101 111111 11110111 010101 11110101 110111 01110111 11111 11011111 011101 11010111 001101 11111101 011111 01011111 110101 11011111 110111 111111001 110101 111010101 010101 1111101 011111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 775
Words 159
Sentences 13
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 27
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 86
Words per stanza (avg) 22
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

48 sec read
66

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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