Analysis of Olney Hymn 11: Jehovah Our Righteousness

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



My God, how perfect are Thy ways!
But mine polluted are;
Sin twines itself about my praise,
And slides into my prayer.

When I would speak what Thou hast done
To save me from my sin,
I cannot make Thy mercies known,
But self-applause creeps in.

Divine desire, that holy flame
Thy grace creates in me;
Alas! impatience is its name,
When it returns to Thee.

This heart, a fountain of vile thoughts.
How does it overflow,
While self upon the surface floats,
Still bubbling from below.

Let others in the gaudy dress
Of fancied merit shine;
The Lord shall be my righteousness,
The Lord forever mine.


Scheme AXAX XBXB CDCD XEXE XFXF
Poetic Form Quatrain  (80%)
Etheree  (30%)
Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 11101111 110101 11010111 010111 11111111 111111 11011101 110110 010101101 110101 01010111 110111 11010111 11110 11010101 1100101 11000101 110101 01111100 010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 601
Words 109
Sentences 9
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 93
Words per stanza (avg) 21
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
68

William Cowper

William Macquarie Cowper was an Australian Anglican archdeacon and Dean of Sydney. more…

All William Cowper poems | William Cowper Books

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