Psalm 39 part 2
Isaac Watts 1674 (Southampton, Hampshire) – 1748 (Stoke Newington, Middlesex)
v.4-7
C. M.
The vanity of man as mortal.
Teach me the measure of my days,
Thou Maker of my frame;
I would survey life's narrow space,
And learn how frail I am.
A span is all that we can boast,
An inch or two of time;
Man is but vanity and dust
In all his flower and prime.
See the vain race of mortals move
Like shadows o'er the plain;
They rage and strive, desire and love,
But all the noise is vain.
Some walk in honor's gaudy show,
Some dig for golden ore;
They toil for heirs, they know not who,
And straight are seen no more.
What should I wish or wait for, then,
From creatures earth and dust?
They make our expectations vain,
And disappoint our trust.
Now I forbid my carnal hope,
My fond desires recall;
I give my mortal interest up,
And make my God my all.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 47 sec read
- 108 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XAX XXXA XBCB XDXD XEXE XCDC XFXF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 748 |
Words | 156 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"Psalm 39 part 2" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 Oct. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/19753/psalm-39-part-2>.
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