Analysis of The Refuge, River, And Rock Of The Church

John Newton 1725 (Wapping, London) – 1807 (London)



He who on earth as man was known,
And bore our sins and pains;
Now, seated on th' eternal throne,
The God of glory reigns.

His hands the wheels of nature guide
With an unerring skill;
And countless worlds extended wide,
Obey his sovereign will.

While harps unnumbered sound his praise,
In yonder world above;
His saints on earth admire his ways,
And glory in his love.

His righteousness, to faith revealed,
Wrought out for guilty worms,
Affords a hiding place and shield,
From enemies and storms.

This land, through which his pilgrims go,
Is desolate and dry;
But streams of grace from him o'erflow
Their thirst to satisfy.

When troubles, like a burning sun,
Beat heavy on their head;
To this almighty Rock they run,
And find a pleasing shade.

How glorious he! how happy they
In such a glorious friend!
Whose love secures them all the way,
And crowns them at the end.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GXGX XHDH IXIX JKJK
Poetic Form Quatrain  (71%)
Metre 11111111 0110101 1101110101 011101 11011101 1111 01010101 011101 111111 010101 11110111 010011 11001101 111101 01010101 110001 11111101 110001 1111111 11110 11010101 110111 11010111 010101 110011101 0101001 11011101 011101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 854
Words 157
Sentences 10
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 28
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 97
Words per stanza (avg) 22
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

47 sec read
46

John Newton

Rev Dr John A Newton CBE is a prominent Methodist minister, author, historian and former President of the Methodist Conference. more…

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