Analysis of Hymn of Sovereign Grace

Augustus Montague Toplady 1740 (Farnham, Surrey) – 1778



Formed for thyself, and turned to thee,
Thy praises, Lord , I show;
No more, with sacrilegious pride,
I rob thee of thy due.

Divested of my fancied plumes,
I throw me at thy feet;
Nor, as a debt, thy favour claim,
But, as an alms, intreat.

Repentance, holiness, and faith.
By which to thee we live,
Are not conditions we perform,
But graces we receive.

Thy Spirit does not offer life,
But raises from the dead;
And neither asks the sinner's leave,
Nor needs the sinner's aid.

Thy power, before the fruit is good,
Must first renew the tree;
We rise, and work the works of God,
When wrought upon by thee.

Each grace of our celestial birth
From thy blest influence springs;
Which plants, and nourishes, and guards,
And to perfection brings.

Gardens of thine, enclosed and sealed,
Thou all our works hast wrought;
And wilt eternal peace ordain
For those thy blood hath bought.

Had not thy love laid hold on us,
We has not loved thee now;
Possess us quite, thou God of grace,
To whom our all we owe!


Scheme ABCX XXXC XXXD XXDX XAXA XEXE XXXX XXXB
Poetic Form Quatrain  (38%)
Metre 1110111 110111 1110101 111111 01011101 111111 1101111 11111 01010001 111111 11010101 110101 11011101 110101 0101011 11011 110010111 110101 11010111 110111 111100101 1111001 11010001 010101 10110101 1110111 01010101 111111 11111111 111111 01111111 1110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 971
Words 185
Sentences 10
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 95
Words per stanza (avg) 23
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

56 sec read
119

Augustus Montague Toplady

Augustus Montague Toplady was an Anglican cleric and hymn writer. He was a major Calvinist opponent of John Wesley. He is best remembered as the author of the hymn "Rock of Ages". Three of his other hymns – "A Debtor to Mercy Alone", "Deathless Principle, Arise" and "Object of My First Desire" – are still occasionally sung today. more…

All Augustus Montague Toplady poems | Augustus Montague Toplady Books

0 fans

Discuss this Augustus Montague Toplady poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Hymn of Sovereign Grace" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/4153/hymn-of-sovereign-grace>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    May 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    30
    days
    14
    hours
    25
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Poet George McDonald wrote a two-word poem that reads _____ _____?
    A Let's Go.
    B Come Home.
    C See You!
    D Good Bye.