Analysis of Psalm 51 part 3

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



The backslider restored.

O Thou that hear'st when sinners cry,
Though all my crimes before thee lie,
Behold them not with angry look,
But blot their mem'ry from thy book.

Create my nature pure within,
And form my soul averse to sin:
Let thy good Spirit ne'er depart,
Nor hide thy presence from my heart.

I cannot live without thy light
Cast out and banished from thy sight:
Thine holy joys, my God, restore,
And guard me that I fall no more.

Though I have grieved thy Spirit, Lord,
His help and comfort still afford;
And let a wretch come near thy throne,
To plead the merits of thy Son.

A broken heart, my God, my King,
Is all the sacrifice I bring;
The God of grace will ne'er despise
A broken heart for sacrifice.

My soul lies humbled in the dust,
And owns thy dreadful sentence just:
Look down, O Lord, with pitying eye,
And save the soul condemned to die.

Then will I teach the world thy ways;
Sinners shall learn thy sovereign grace;
I'll lead them to my Savior's blood,
And they shall praise a pard'ning God.

O may thy love inspire my tongue!
Salvation shall be all my song;
And all my powers shall join to bless
The Lord, my strength and righteousness.


Scheme A BBCC DDEE FFGG AAXX HHXX IIBB XXXX XXXX
Poetic Form
Metre 0101 111111101 11110111 01111101 1111111 01110101 01110111 11110101 11110111 11010111 11010111 11011101 01111111 11111101 11010101 01011111 11010111 01011111 1101011 01111101 0101110 11110001 01110101 111111001 01010111 11110111 10111101 11111101 0111011 11110111 01011111 011101111 01110100
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,136
Words 219
Sentences 11
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 33
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 100
Words per stanza (avg) 24
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:07 min read
104

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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