Analysis of Psalm 2

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



Christ dying, rising, interceding, and reigning.

Acts 4:24, etc.

[Maker and sovereign Lord
Of heav'n, and earth, and seas,
Thy providence confirms thy word,
And answers thy decrees.

The things so long foretold
By David are fulfilled,
When Jews and Gentiles joined to slay
Jesus, thine holy child.]

Why did the Gentiles rage,
And Jews, with one accord,
Bend all their counsels to destroy
Th' Anointed of the Lord?

Rulers and kings agree
To form a vain design;
Against the Lord their powers unite,
Against his Christ they join.

The Lord derides their rage,
And will support his throne;
He that hath raised him from the dead
Hath owned him for his Son.

Now he's ascended high,
And asks to rule the earth
The merit of his blood he pleads,
And pleads his heav'nly birth.

He asks, and God bestows
A large inheritance;
Far as the world's remotest ends
His kingdom shall advance.

The nations that rebel
Must feel his iron rod;
He'll vindicate those honors well
Which he received from God.

[Be wise, ye rulers, now,
And worship at his throne;
With trembling joy, ye people, bow
To God's exalted Son.

If once his wrath arise,
Ye perish on the place;
Then blessed is the soul that flies
For refuge to his grace.]


Scheme X X ABXB XXXX CAXA XXXX CDXE XFXF XXXX XGXG HDHE IJIJ
Poetic Form
Metre 11010010010 1100 100101 110101 11000111 010101 011101 110101 1101111 101101 11011 011101 11110101 11010101 100101 110101 01011101 011111 010111 010111 11111101 111111 110101 011101 01011111 01111 110101 010100 11010101 110101 010110 111101 11001101 110111 111101 010111 110011101 110101 111101 110101 1110111 110111
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,175
Words 220
Sentences 14
Stanzas 12
Stanza Lengths 1, 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 42
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 78
Words per stanza (avg) 18
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:07 min read
63

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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