Analysis of When at Thy Footstool, Lord, I Bend

Henry Francis Lyte 1793 (Ednam) – 1847 (Nice)



When at Thy footstool, Lord, I bend,
And plead with Thee for mercy there,
Think of the sinner’s dying Friend,
And for His sake receive my prayer.

O think not of my shame and guilt,
My thousand stains of deepest dye;
Think of the blood which Jesus spilt,
And let that blood my pardon buy.

Think, Lord, how I am still Thine own,
The trembling creature of Thy hand;
Think how my heart to sin is prone,
And what temptations round me stand.

O think upon Thy holy Word,
And every plighted promise there;
How prayer should evermore be heard,
And how Thy glory is to spare.

O think not of my doubts and fears,
My strivings with Thy grace divine;
Think upon Jesus’ woes and tears,
And let His merits stand for mine.

Thine eyes, Thine ear, they are not dull;
Thine arm can never shortened be;
Behold me here; my heart is full;
Behold, and spare, and succor me.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GBGB XHXH XIXI
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 1111111 01111101 11010101 01110111 11111101 11011101 11011101 01111101 11111111 010010111 11111111 01010111 11011101 01001101 1111011 01110111 11111101 11011101 10110101 01110111 11111111 11110101 01111111 01010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 839
Words 163
Sentences 7
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 109
Words per stanza (avg) 27
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

48 sec read
50

Henry Francis Lyte

Henry Francis Lyte was an Anglican divine, hymnodist, and poet.  more…

All Henry Francis Lyte poems | Henry Francis Lyte Books

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