Analysis of Hymn 159

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



An unconverted state; or, Converting grace.

[Great King of glory and of grace,
We own, with humble shame,
How vile is our degen'rate race,
And our first father's name.]

From Adam flows our tainted blood,
The poison reigns within;
Makes us averse to all that's good,
And willing slaves to sin.

[Daily we break thy holy laws,
And then reject thy grace;
Engaged in the old serpent's cause,
Against our Maker's face.l

We live estranged afar from God,
And love the distance well;
With haste we run the dangerous road
That leads to death and hell.

And can such rebels be restored?
Such natures made divine?
Let sinners see thy glory, Lord,
And feel this power of thine.

We raise our Fathers name on high
Who his own Spirit sends
To bring rebellious strangers nigh,
And turn his foes to friends.


Scheme A ABAB XCXC XAXD XDXD EFEF GHGH
Poetic Form
Metre 1010110101 11110011 111101 111101011 0101101 110110101 010101 11011111 010111 10111101 010111 01001101 0110101 11010111 010101 111101001 111101 01110101 110101 11011101 0111011 111010111 111101 11010101 011111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 772
Words 145
Sentences 10
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 25
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 88
Words per stanza (avg) 20
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

45 sec read
75

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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