Analysis of Psalm 50
Isaac Watts 1674 (Southampton, Hampshire) – 1748 (Stoke Newington, Middlesex)
The last judgment.
The Lord, the Sovereign, sends his summons forth,
Calls the south nations and awakes the north;
From east to west the sounding orders spread,
Through distant worlds and regions of the dead:
No more shall atheists mock his long delay;
His vengeance sleeps no more: behold the day!
Behold, the Judge descends, his guards are nigh;
Tempest and fire attend him down the sky:
Heav'n, earth, and hell, draw near; let all things come
To hear his justice, and the sinner's doom:
"But gather first my saints," the Judge commands,
"Bring them, ye angels, from their distant lands.
"Behold, my cov'nant stands for ever good,
Sealed by th' eternal Sacrifice in blood,
And signed with all their names; the Greek, the Jew,
That paid the ancient worship or the new,
There's no distinction here; come, spread their thrones,
And near me seat my fav'rites and my sons.
"I, their Almighty Savior and their God,
I am their Judge: ye heav'ns, proclaim abroad
My just eternal sentence, and declare
Those awful truths that sinners dread to hear:
Sinners in Zion, tremble and retire;
I doom the painted hypocrite to fire.
"Not for the want of goats or bullocks slain
Do I condemn thee; bulls and goats are vain
Without the flames of love; in vain the store
Of brutal off'rings that were mine before;
Mine are the tamer beasts and savage breed,
Flocks, herds, and fields and forests where they feed.
"If I were hungry, would I ask thee food?
When did I thirst, or drink thy bullocks' blood?
Can I be flattered with thy cringing bows,
Thy solemn chatt'rings and fantastic vows?
Are my eyes charmed thy vestments to behold,
Glaring in gems, and gay in woven gold?
"Unthinking wretch! how couldst thou hope to please
A God, a Spirit, with such toys as these,
While, with my grace and statutes on thy tongue,
Thou lov'st deceit, and dost thy brother wrong?
In vain to pious forms thy zeal pretends,
Thieves and adulterers are thy chosen friends.
"Silent I waited with long-suff'ring love,
But didst thou hope that I should ne'er reprove?
And cherish such an impious thought within,
That God, the Righteous, would indulge thy sin?
Behold my terrors now: my thunders roll,
And thy own crimes affright thy guilty soul."
Sinners, awake betimes; ye fools, be wise;
Awake before this dreadful morning rise;
Change your vain thoughts, your crooked works amend,
Fly to the Savior, make the Judge your friend
Lest, like a lion, his last vengeance tear
Your trembling souls, and no deliv'rer near.
Scheme | X AABBCC DDXXEE XFGGEX XXHXXX IIJJKK XFLLMM NNXXOO XDPPQQ RRSSHX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 0110 0101011101 101100101 1111010101 1101010101 11110011101 1101110101 0101011111 10010011101 1101111111 111100011 1101110101 1111011101 011111101 11110101001 0111110101 1101010101 1101011111 011111011 1101010011 1111110101 1101010001 1101110111 1001010001 1101010110 1101111101 1101110111 0101110101 1101110101 1101010101 1101010111 1101011111 1111111101 1111011101 110100101 111111101 1001010101 0101111111 0101011111 1111010111 1101011101 0111011101 10010011101 101101111 111111111 01011010101 1101010111 0111011101 011111101 100111111 0101110101 1111110101 1101010111 1101011101 110010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,431 |
Words | 434 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 55 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 193 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 43 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:13 min read
- 97 Views
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"Psalm 50" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/19774/psalm-50>.
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