Analysis of When all Thy Mercies, O My God
Joseph Addison 1672 (Milston) – 1719 (Holland House, London)
When all Thy mercies, O my God,
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I’m lost
In wonder, love and praise.
Thy Providence my life sustained,
And all my wants redressed,
While in the silent womb I lay,
And hung upon the breast.
To all my weak complaints and cries
Thy mercy lent an ear,
Ere yet my feeble thoughts had learned
To form themselves in prayer.
Unnumbered comforts to my soul
Thy tender care bestowed,
Before my infant heart conceived
From Whom those comforts flowed.
When in the slippery paths of youth
With heedless steps I ran,
Thine arm unseen conveyed me safe,
And led me up to man.
Through hidden dangers, toils, and deaths,
It gently cleared my way;
And through the pleasing snares of vice,
More to be feared than they.
O how shall words with equal warmth
The gratitude declare,
That glows within my ravished heart?
But thou canst read it there.
Thy bounteous hand with worldly bliss
Hath made my cup run o’er;
And, in a kind and faithful Friend,
Hath doubled all my store.
Ten thousand thousand precious gifts
My daily thanks employ;
Nor is the last a cheerful heart
That tastes those gifts with joy.
When worn with sickness, oft hast Thou
With health renewed my face;
And, when in sins and sorrows sunk,
Revived my soul with grace.
Through every period of my life
Thy goodness I’ll pursue
And after death, in distant worlds,
The glorious theme renew.
When nature fails, and day and night
Divide Thy works no more,
My ever grateful heart, O Lord,
Thy mercy shall adore.
Through all eternity to Thee
A joyful song I’ll raise;
For, oh, eternity’s too short
To utter all Thy praise!
Scheme | ABXB XACX XDXE XFXF XGXG XCXC XEHE XDXI XJHJ XKXK XLXL XIXI XBXB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (85%) |
Metre | 11110111 110101 01010111 010101 11001101 01111 10010111 010101 11110101 110111 11110111 110101 110111 110101 01110101 111101 100100111 11111 11010111 011111 11010101 110111 01010111 111111 11111101 01001 1101111 111111 1111101 111111 00010101 110111 11010101 110101 11010101 111111 11110111 110111 01010101 011111 1100100111 110101 01010101 0100101 11010101 011111 11010111 110101 11010011 010111 11111 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,628 |
Words | 291 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 52 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 98 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:27 min read
- 132 Views
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"When all Thy Mercies, O My God" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/24506/when-all-thy-mercies%2C-o-my-god>.
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