Anne Steele

Father, whate'er of earthly bliss
Thy sovereign will denies,
Accepted at Thy throne, let this
My humble prayer, arise:

Give me a calm and thankful heart,
From every murmur free;
The blessing of Thy grace impart,
And make me live to Thee.

Let the sweet hope that Thou art mine
My life and death attend,
Thy presence through my journey shine,
And crown my journey's end.

Miss Anne Steele, all her life, was a great sufferer. Anne lost her mother at age 3, her mother being 36 at the time of her death. At age 19, Anne's father was thrown from his horse and broke a leg. A few weeks later Anne had a similar accident and severely injured her hip, which made her a lifelong invalid.

At age 21, she became engaged to be married to a young man named Elscourt. The preparations were all made for the wedding. Some of the guests had already arrived and she was momentarily expecting the arrival of her lover, when a messenger came with the intelligence that he had just drowned while swimming in the River Avon. Her reason almost fled at the sudden shock. It has been said that this hymn was the result of this early experience. The well-known three verses of this hymn were taken from the following original:

When I survey life's varied scene,
Amid the darkest hours,
Sweet rays of comfort shine between,
And thorns are mix'd with flowers.

Lord, teach me to adore Thy hand,
From whence my comforts flow;
And let me in this desert land
A glimpse of Canaan know.

Is health and ease my happy share?
O may I bless my God;
Thy kindness let my songs declare,
And spread Thy praise abroad.

While each delightful gifts as these,
Are kindly dealt to me,
Be all my hours of health and ease
Devoted, Lord to Thee.

In griefs and pains Thy sacred word,
(Dear solace of my soul!)
Celestial comforts can afford,
And all their power control.

When present sufferings pain my heart,
Or future terrors rise,
And light and hope almost depart
From this dejected eyes:

Thy powerful word supports my hope,
Sweet cordial of the mind!
And bears my fainting spirit up,
And bids me wait resign'd.

And O, whatever of earthly bliss
Thy sovereign hand denies,
Accepted at Thy throne of grace,
Let this petition rise:

"Give me a calm and thankful heart,
From every murmur free;
The blessing of Thy grace impart,
And make me live to Thee."

"Let the sweet hope that Thou art mine,
My life and death attend;
Thy presence through my journey shine,
And bless its happy end.¨

Actually, her whole life was a succession of trials to any of which the hymn might have applied with equal appropriateness. Her trials led to a spirit of resignation and contentment which pervaded all her hymns.

Anne is, perhaps, the first English woman who contributed hymns of any importance to the Church's treasury of song. From this series of tragedies rose 144 hymns and 34 versified Psalms, which were enormously popular. Her main work was Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional (1860). When Trinity Church in Boston, Massachusetts (where Phillips Brooks later became rector) published its hymnal in 1808, 59 of its 144 hymns were from the pen of Anne Steele. She preferred to remain anonymous, though, writing under the pen name,"Theodosia".

Anne died at the age of 61 on November 11,1778. Her last words were "I know that my Redeemer liveth". She was buried in the Churchyard of Broughton village church in the family tomb with her mother and father. On her tombstone were the following words:

Silent the lyre, and dumb the tuneful tongue,
That sung on earth her great Redeemer's praise;
But now in heaven she joins the angelic song,
In more harmonious, more exalted lays.