Analysis of Psalm 77 part 2

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



Comfort derived from ancient providences.

"How awful is thy chast'ning rod!"
May thy own children say:
"The great, the wise, the dreadful God!
How holy is his way !"

I'll meditate his works of old,
The King that reigns above;
I'll hear his ancient wonders told,
And learn to trust his love.

Long did the house of Joseph lie
With Egypt's yoke oppressed;
Long he delayed to hear their cry,
or gave his people rest.

The sons of good old Jacob seemed
Abandoned to their foes;
But his almighty arm redeemed
The nation that he chose.

Isr'el, his people and his sheep,
Must follow where he calls;
He bade them venture through the deep,
And made the waves their walls.

The waters saw thee, mighty God!
The waters saw thee come;
Backward they fled, and frighted stood,
To make thine armies room.

Strange was thy journey through the sea
Thy footsteps, Lord, unknown;
Terrors attend the wondrous way
That brings thy mercies down.

[Thy voice, with terror in the sound,
Through clouds and darkness broke;
All heav'n in lightning shone around,
And earth with thunder shook.

Thine arrows through the skies were hurled;
How glorious is the Lord!
Surprise and trembling seized the world,
And his own saints adored.

He gave them water from the rock,
And safe, by Moses' hand,
Through a dry desert led his flock
Home to the promised land.]


Scheme A BABC DEDE FGFG HAHA IAIA BXXX AXCX JXJX KLKL MNMN
Poetic Form
Metre 10011101 1101111 111101 01010101 110111 1101111 011101 11110101 011111 11011101 110101 11011111 111101 01111101 010111 11010101 010111 1110011 110111 11110101 010111 01011101 010111 1011011 111101 11110101 11101 10010101 111101 11110001 110101 11010101 011101 11010101 1100101 010100101 011101 11110101 011101 10110111 110101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,288
Words 237
Sentences 16
Stanzas 11
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 41
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 94
Words per stanza (avg) 21
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:12 min read
52

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…

All Isaac Watts poems | Isaac Watts Books

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