Analysis of To The Afflicted, Tossed With Tempests And Not Comforted

John Newton 1725 (Wapping, London) – 1807 (London)



Pensive, doubting, fearful heart,
Hear what Christ the Saviour says;
Every word should joy impart,
Change thy mourning into praise:
Yes, he speaks, and speaks to thee,
May he help thee to believe!
Then thou presently wilt see,
Thou hast little cause to grieve.

Fear thou not, nor be ashamed,
All thy sorrows soon shall end
I who heav'n and earth have framed,
Am thy husband and thy friend
I the High and Holy One,
Israel's God by all adored;
As thy Saviour will be known,
Thy Redeemer and thy Lord.

For a moment I withdrew,
And thy heart was filled with pain;
But my mercies I'll renew,
Thou shalt soon rejoice again:
Though I scorn to hide my face,
Very soon my wrath shall cease;
'Tis but for a moment's space,
Ending in eternal peace.

When my peaceful bow appears
Painted on the wat'ry cloud;
'Tis to dissipate thy fears,
Lest the earth should be o'erflowed:
'Tis an emblem too of grace,
Of my cov'nant love a sign;
Though the mountains leave their place,
Thou shalt be for ever mine.

Though afflicted, tempest-tossed,
Comfortless awhile thou art,
Do not think thou canst be lost,
Thou art graven on my heart
All thy walls I will repair,
Thou shalt be rebuilt anew;
And in thee it shall appear,
What a God of love can do.


Scheme AXAXBCBC DEDEXFXF GXGXHIHI JXJAHKHK LALAXGXG
Poetic Form Etheree  (33%)
Metre 1010101 111011 10011101 1110011 1110111 1111101 1110011 1110111 1111101 1110111 1110111 1110011 1010101 1011101 111111 11011 1010101 0111111 1110101 1110101 1111111 1011111 1110101 1000101 1110101 101011 111011 101111 1110111 111101 1010111 1111101 1010101 10111 1111111 1110111 1111101 1110101 0011101 1011111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,197
Words 227
Sentences 7
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 40
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 189
Words per stanza (avg) 45
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:10 min read
141

John Newton

Rev Dr John A Newton CBE is a prominent Methodist minister, author, historian and former President of the Methodist Conference. more…

All John Newton poems | John Newton Books

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