Hymns of Anne Steele
o Watchfulness
and Prayer.
o Desiring to Praise God
o The King of Saints
o God the Only Refuge
o The Promised Land.
o The Excellency of the Holy Scriptures.
o The Intercession of Christ.
o The Mysteries of Providence.
o Humble Reliance.
o God My Creator and Benefactor.
Watchfulness and
Prayer.
Matt. Xxvi. 41.
1 ALAS, what hourly dangers
rise!
What snares beset my way!
To heaven 0 let me lift my eyes,
And hourly watch and pray.
2 How oft my mournful thoughts complain,
And melt in flowing tears!
My weak resistance, ah, how vain!
How strong my foes and fears!
3 O gracious God, in whom I
live,
My feeble efforts aid,
Help me to watch, and pray, and strive,
Though trembling and afraid.
4 Increase my faith, increase my hope,
When foes and fears prevail;
And bear my fainting spirit up,
Or soon my strength will fail.
5 Whene'er temptations fright my
heart,
Or lure my feet aside,
My God, thy powerful aid impart,
My guardian, and my guide.
6 O keep me in thy heavenly way,
And bid the tempter flee;
And let me never, never stray
From happiness and thee.
1 ALM IGHTY Author of my
frame,
To thee my vital powers belong;
Thy praise, (delightful, glorious theme!)
Demands my heart, my life, my tongue.
2 My heart, my life, my tongue
are thine:
Oh be thy praise their blest employ!
But may my song with Angels' join?
Nor sacred awe forbid the joy?
3 Thy glories, the seraphic lyre
On all its strings attempts in vain;
Then how shall mortals dare aspire
In thought, to try th' unequal strain?
4 Yet the great Sovereign of
the skies
To mortals bends a gracious ear;
Nor the mean tribute will despise,
If offer'd with a heart sincere.
5 Great God, accept the
humble praise,
And guide my heart, and guide my tongue,
While to thy name I trembling raise
The grateful, though unworthy song.
The King
of Saints
1 COME, ye that love the Saviour's name,
And joy to make it known:
The sovereign of your hearts proclaim,
And bow before his throne.
2 Behold your King, your
Saviour, crown'd
With glories all divine;
And tell the wondering nations round
How bright those glories shine.
3 While majesty's effulgent
blaze
Surrounds his awful brow;
E'en angels tremble as they gaze,
And veil'd adoring bow.
4 But love attempers every
ray,
Love, how divinely sweet!
That stoops to view the sons of clay,
And calls them to his feet!
5 Infinite power and
boundless grace,
In him unite their rays;
You that have e'er beheld his face,
Can you forbear his praise?
6 When in his earthly courts
we view
The glories of our King;
We long to love as angels do,
And wish like them to sing.
7 And shall we long and wish
in vain?
Lord, teach our songs to rise!
Thy love can animate the strain,
And bid it reach the skies.
8 0 happy period! glorious day!
When heaven and earth shall raise,
With all their powers the raptur'd lay,
To celebrate thy praise.
God the Only
Refuge
1 DEAR refuge of my weary soul,
On thee, when sorrows rise:
On thee, when waves of trouble roll,
My fainting hope relies.
2 While hope revives, though
press'd with fears,
And I can say, my God,
Beneath thy feet I spread my cares,
And pour my woes abroad.
3 To thee, I tell each rising
grief,
For thou alone canst heal;
Thy word can bring a sweet relief
For every pain I feel.
4 But oh! when gloomy doubts
prevail,
I fear to call thee mine!
The springs of comfort seem to fail,
And all my hopes decline.
5 Yet, gracious God, where
shall I flee?
Thou art my only trust,
And still my soul would cleave to thee,
Though prostrate in the dust.
6 Hast
thou not bid me seek thy face?
And shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sovereign grace
Be deaf when I complain?
7 No, still the ear of sovereign
grace
Attends the mourner's prayer;
0 may I ever find access,
To breathe my sorrows there,
8 Thy mercy-seat is open still;
Here let my soul retreat,
With humble hope attend thy will,
And wait beneath thy feet.
The Promised Land.
Isaiah xxxiii. 17.
1 FAR from these narrow scenes of night
Unbounded glories rise,
And realms of infinite delight,
Unknown to mortal eyes.
2 Fair distant land!-could mortal eyes
But half its joys explore,
How would our spirits long to rise,
And dwell on earth no more!
3 There pain and sickness never come,
And grief no more complains!
Health triumphs in immortal bloom,
And endless pleasure reigns!
4 From discord free and war's alarms,
And want, and pining care;
Plenty and peace unite their charms,
And smile unchanging there.
5 There rich varieties of joy,
Continual feast the mind;
Pleasures which fill, but never cloy,
Immortal and refin'd!
6 No factious strife, no envy there,
The sons of peace molest;
But harmony and love sincere
Fill every happy breast,
7 No cloud those blissful regions know,
For ever bright and fair!
For sin, the source of mortal woe,
Can never enter there.
8 There no alternate night is known,
Nor sun's faint sickly ray;
But glory from the sacred throne
Spreads everlasting day.
9 The glorious monarch there displays
His beams of wondrous grace;
His happy subjects sing his praise,
And bow before his face.
10 O may the heavenly prospect fire,
Our hearts with ardent love,
Till wings of faith and strong desire
Bear every thought above.
11 Prepare us, Lord, by grace divine,
For thy bright courts on high;
Then bid our spirits rise and join
The chorus of the sky.
The Excellency of the Holy
Scriptures.
1 FATHER of mercies, in thy word
What endless glory shines!
For ever be thy name ador'd
For these celestial lines.
2 Here mines of heavenly wealth disclose
Their bright, unbounded store:
The glittering gem no longer glows,
And India boasts no more.
3 Here may the wretched sons
of want
Exhaustless riches find:
Riches, above what earth can grant,
And lasting as the mind.
4 Here, the fair tree of knowledge grows,
And yields a free repast,
Sublimer sweets than nature knows,
Invite the longing taste.
5 Here may the blind and hungry come,
And light, and food receive;
Here beams the meanest guest have room,
And taste, and see, and live.
6 Amidst these gloomy wilds
below,
When dark and sad we stray;
Here beam of heaven relieve our woe,
And guide to endless day.
7 Here springs of consolation
rise,
To cheer the fainting mind;
And thirsty souls receive supplies,
And sweet refreshment find.
8 When guilt and terror, pain and grief,
United rend the heart,
Here sinners meet divine relief,
And cool the raging smart .
9 Here the Redeemer's welcome voice,
Spreads heavenly peace around;
And life, and everlasting joys
Attend the blissful sound.
10 But when his painful sufferings rise,
(Delightful, dreadful scene!)
Angels may read with wondering eyes
That Jesus died for men.
11 O may these heavenly pages be
My ever dear delight,
And still new beauties may I see,
And still increasing light.
12 Divine instructor, gracious Lord,
Be thou for ever near,
Teach me to love thy sacred word,
And view my Saviour there.
The Intercession of Christ.
Heb.vii.25.
1 HE lives, the great Redeemer lives,
(What joy the blest assurance gives!)
And now before his Father, God,
Pleads the full merits of his blood.
2 Repeated crimes awake our fears,
And justice arm'd with frowns appears;
But in the Saviour's lovely face
Sweet mercy smiles, and all is peace.
3 Hence then, ye black, despairing thoughts;
Above our fears, above our faults,
His powerful intercessions rise,
And guilt recedes, and terror dies.
4 In every dark, distressful hour,
When sin and Satan join their power
Let this dear hope repel the dart,
That Jesus bears us on his heart.
5 Great advocate, almighty friend,
On him our humble hopes depend;
Our cause can never, never fail,
For Jesus pleads, and must prevail.
1 LORD, how mysterious are thy ways!
How blind are we! How mean our praise!
Thy steps can mortal eyes explore?
'Tis ours to wonder and adore.
2 Thy deep decrees from creature-sight
Are hid in shades of awful night;
Amid the lines, with curious eye,
Not angel minds presume to pry.
3 Great God, I would not ask to see
What in futurity shall be;
If light and bliss attend my days,
Then let my future hours be praise.
4 Is darkness and distress my share?
Then let me trust thy guardian care;
Enough for me, if love divine
At length through every cloud shall shine.
5 Yet this my soul desires to know,
Be this my only with below,
"That Christ is mine!"-this great request
Grant, bounteous God,-and I am blest.
1 MY God, my Father, blissful name!
O may I call thee mine;
May I with sweet assurance claim
A portion so divine?
2 This only can my fears control,
And bid my sorrows fly;
What harm can ever reach my soul
Beneath my Father's eye?
3 Whate'er thy providence denies,
I calmly would resign,
For thou art just, and good, and wise;
O bend my will to thine.
4 Whate'er thy sacred will ordains,
O give me strength to bear:
And let me know my Father reigns,
And trust his tender care.
5 If pain and sickness rend this frame,
And life almost depart,
Is not thy mercy still the same,
To cheer my drooping heart?
6 If cares and sorrows me surround,
Their power why should I fear?
My inward peace they cannot wound,
If thou, my God, art near.
7 Thy sovereign ways are all unknown
To my weak, erring sight;
Yet let my soul, adoring, own
That all thy ways are right.
8 My God, my Father, be thy name
My solace and my stay;
O wilt thou seal my humble claim,
And drive my fears away.
God My Creator and Benefactor.
1 MY Maker, and my King,
To thee my all I owe;
Thy sovereign bounty is the spring
From whence my blessings flow.
2 Thou ever good, and kind,
A thousand reasons move,
A thousand obligations bind,
My heart to grateful love.
3 The creature of thy hand,
On thee alone I live:
My God, thy benefits demand
More praise than life can give.
4 Oh! What can I impart,
When all is thine before?
Thy love demands a thankful heart:
The gift, alas, how poor!
5 Shall I withhold thy due?
And shall my passions rove?
Lord, form this wretched heart anew,
And fill it with thy love.
6 O let thy grace inspire
My soul with strength divine;
Let all my powers to thee aspire,
And all my days be thine.