Analysis of The Hiding Place

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



See the gloomy gath'ring cloud
Hanging o'er a sinful land!
Sure the Lord proclaims aloud,
Times of trouble are at hand:
Happy they, who love his name!
They shall always find him near;
Though the earth were wrapped in flame,
They have no just cause for fear.

Hark! his voice in accents mild,
O, how comforting and sweet!
Speaks to every humble child,
Pointing out a sure retreat!
Come, and in my chambers hide,
To my saints of old well known;
There you safely may abide,
Till the storm be overblown.

You have only to repose
On my wisdom, love, and care;
Where my wrath consumes my foes,
Mercy shall my children spare:
While they perish in the flood,
You that bear my holy mark,
Sprinkled with atoning blood,
Shall be safe within the ark.

Sinners, see the ark prepared!
Haste to enter while there's room;
Though the Lord his arm has bared,
Mercy still retards your doom:
Seek him while there yet is hope,
Ere the day of grace be past;
Lest in wrath he give you up,
And this call should prove your last.


Scheme ABABCDCD EFEFGHGH IJIJKLKL MNMNXOXO
Poetic Form
Metre 1010111 10100101 1010101 1110111 1011111 111111 1010101 1111111 1110101 1110001 11100101 1010101 1001101 1111111 1110101 101101 1110101 1110101 1110111 1011101 1110001 1111101 10111 1110101 1010101 1110111 1011111 1010111 1111111 1011111 1011111 0111111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 980
Words 188
Sentences 11
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 194
Words per stanza (avg) 47
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

57 sec read
135

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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