In this sonnet the three quatrain divisions each use a unique metaphor to explain the speakers feelings about being a sinner and his pleas to God to help him be a better person.
In the first quatrain he suggests that God is a metal worker who can "batter my heart" to make it new. God will "break, blow, and burn, and make me new."
In the second quatrain, he compares himself to a city that is overtaken by sin. His reason has been taken captive and his not capable of defending him.
In the third quatrain he explains his sinful ways he compares his sinful soul to a bride or groom that is married to sin. He is asking the God grant him a divorce so that, as he states in the final couplet, he can be ravished by the love of God. It is rather shocking language, hence a metaphysical conceit, but like all clever comparisons, all of these work well in his effort to pray for a change from God.
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