Religion
Hymn I.107: The fall and recovery of man; or, Christ and Satan at enmity
From Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Book I (1707)
Deceived by subtle snares of hell,
Adam, our head, our father, fell;
When Satan, in the serpent hid,
Proposed the fruit that God forbid.
Death was the threat'ning: death began
To take possession of the man
His unborn race received the wound,
And heavy curses smote the ground.
But Satan found a worse reward;
Thus saith the vengeance of the Lord
"Let everlasting hatred be
Betwixt the woman's seed and thee.
"The woman's seed shall be my Son;
He shall destroy what thou hast done;
Shall break thy head, and only feel
Thy malice raging at his heel."
He spake; and bid four thousand years
Roll on; at length his Son appears;
Angels with joy descend to earth,
And sing the young Redeemer's birth.
Lo, by the sons of hell he dies;
But as he hung 'twixt earth and skies,
He gave their prince a fatal blow,
And triumphed o'er the powers below.
Cite this poem
MLA
Watts, Isaac. “Hymn I.107: The fall and recovery of man; or, Christ and Satan at enmity.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/watts/462/.
Chicago
Watts, Isaac. “Hymn I.107: The fall and recovery of man; or, Christ and Satan at enmity.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/watts/462/.
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More by Isaac Watts
- Psalm 15: Characters of a saint; or, A citizen of Zion; or, The qualifications of a Christian
- Psalm 89, Part 2: The power and majesty of God; or, Reverential worship
- Psalm 149: Praise God, all his saints or, The saints judging the world
- Hymn I.139: Hope in the covenant; or, God's promise and truth unchangeable
- Hymn II.143: Flesh and spirit