Analysis of Is This Thy Kindness To Thy Friend (Christ A Redeemer And Friend)
John Newton 1725 (Wapping, London) – 1807 (London)
Poor, weak and worthless though I am
I have a rich almighty friend;
Jesus, the Saviour, is His Name;
He freely loves, and without end.
He ransomed me from hell with blood,
And by His pow'r my foes controlled;
He found me wand'ring far from God,
And brought me to His chosen fold.
He cheers my heart, my wants supplies,
And says that I shall shortly be,
Enthroned with Him above the skies;
O what a friend is Christ to me!
But ah! I my inmost spirit mourns,
And well my eyes with tears may swim,
To think of my perverse returns;
I've been a faithless friend to him.
Often my gracious Friend I grieve,
Neglect, distrust, and disobey,
And often Satan's lies believe,
Sooner than all my Friend can say.
He bids me always freely come,
And promises whate'er I ask:
But I am straitened, cold and dumb,
And count my privilege a task.
Before the world that hates his course,
My treach'rous heart has throbbed with shame;
Loth to forego the worlds applause,
I hardly dare avow his name.
Sure were not I most vile and base,
I could not thus my friend requite!
And were not he the God of grace,
He'd frown and spurn me from his sight.
Scheme | XABA XCXC DEDE XFXF GHGH IJIJ XBXB KAKX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11010111 11010101 1001111 11010011 1111111 011111101 11111111 01111101 11111101 01111101 1110101 11011111 11111101 01111111 11110101 1101111 10110111 0101001 0101101 10111111 1111101 01001011 1111101 0111001 01011111 1111111 11010101 11010111 10111101 1111111 00110111 11011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,106 |
Words | 214 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 108 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 17, 2023
- 1:06 min read
- 167 Views
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"Is This Thy Kindness To Thy Friend (Christ A Redeemer And Friend)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/23946/is-this-thy-kindness-to-thy-friend-%28christ-a-redeemer-and-friend%29>.
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