Analysis of Psalm 75

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



Power and government from God alone.
[Applied to the glorious Revolution by King William, or the happy accession of King George to the throne.]

To thee, most Holy and most High,
To thee we bring our thankful praise;
Thy works declare thy name is nigh,
Thy works of wonder and of grace.

Britain was doomed to be a slave,
Her frame dissolved, her fears were great;
When God a new supporter gave,
To bear the pillars of the state.

He from thy hand received his crown,
And sware to rule by wholesome laws;
His foot shall tread th' oppressor down,
His arm defend the righteous cause.

Let haughty sinners sink their pride,
Nor lift so high their scornful head;
But lay their foolish thoughts aside,
And own the king that God hath made.

Such honors never come by chance,
Nor do the winds promotion blow;
'Tis God the Judge doth one advance,
'Tis God that lays another low.

No vain pretence to royal birth
Shall fix a tyrant on the throne:
God, the great Sovereign of the earth,
Will rise and make his justice known.

[His hand holds out the dreadful cup
Of vengeance mixed with various plagues,
To make the wicked drink them up,
Wring out and taste the bitter dregs.

Now shall the Lord exalt the just;
And while he tramples on the proud,
And lays their glory in the dust,
My lips shall sing his praise aloud.]


Scheme AA BXBX CDCD EXEX FXFX GHGH IAIA JXJX KLKL
Poetic Form
Metre 1001001101 011010001011101010010111101 11110011 111110101 11011111 11110011 10111101 01010101 11010101 11010101 11110111 01111101 1111110101 11010101 11010111 11111101 11110101 01011111 11010111 11010101 11011101 11110101 1111101 11010101 10110101 11011101 11110101 110111001 11010111 11010101 11010101 01110101 01110001 11111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,276
Words 244
Sentences 11
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 34
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 114
Words per stanza (avg) 27
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 11, 2023

1:13 min read
64

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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