How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
A broken ALTAR, Lord, they servant rears
And cemented with tears (1-2)
Well, the rhyme on "rears" and "tears" is sure interesting. It suggests that rearing an altar, a form of sacrifice and prayer, is painful, to say the least.
Quote #2
Whose parts are as thy hand did frame;
No workman's tool hath touch'd the same (3-4)
The speaker refers to the book of Exodus here, partly to let everybody know that he's a very devout fellow, but also to pay some respect to his lord. He implies here that God is the master "workman," and nobody else.
Quote #3
A HEART alone
Is such a stone,
As nothing but
Thy pow'r doth cut (5-8)
The speaker points out the supremacy of God. Only the Lord is capable of "cutting" a heart, meaning that only a being as powerful as God can create human life. God is the only true creator, the only legitimate "workman."
Quote #4
Wherefore each part
Of my hard heart
Meets in this frame
To praise thy name (9-12)
The poem's religious or devotional bent is made very clear here, especially in the rhyme on "frame" and "name." The "frame" is both the poem itself and the speaker's body, and the fact that the word rhymes with "name" tells us that God is a very big part of both.
Quote #5
That if I chance to hold my peace,
These stones to praise thee may not cease (13-14)
The speaker has figured out a way to praise God even if something happens to him: the poem will be his surrogate. It will ensure that he continues to spread the good word even after he's no longer able to talk (i.e., after he's dead).
Quote #6
Oh, let thy blessed SACRIFCE be mine,
And sanctify this ALTAR to be thine (15-16)
The speaker wants to make his altar a religious offering. The thing is, the altar is both the poem and the speaker's offering of himself. He's built the poem-heart-altar with God in mind, and now he wants God to bless it and make it a sacred, spiritual, object.