Desiring the Presence of God in Affliction

Top Text Author Text Info Timeline Page Scans Instances

Thou only center of my rest

Author: Anne Steele
Published in 21 hymnals

Representative Text

1 Thou only center of my rest,
Look down with pitying eye,
While with protracted pain opprest,
I breathe the plaintive sigh.

2 Thy gracious presence O my God,
My ev'ry wish contains;
With this, beneath affliction's load,
My heart no more complains.

3 This can my every care controul,
Gild each dark scene with light;
This is the sunshine of the soul;
Without it all is night.

4 My Lord, my life, O cheer my heart
With thy reviving ray,
And bid these mournful shades depart,
And bring the dawn of day!

5 O happy scenes of pure delight!
Where thy full beams impart
Unclouded beauty to the sight,
And rapture to the heart.

6 Her part in those fair realms of bliss,
My spirit longs to know;
My wishes terminate in this,
Nor can they rest below.

7 Lord, shall the breathings of my heart,
Aspire in vain to thee?
Confirm my hope, that where thou art,
I shall forever be.

8 Then shall my cheerful spirit sing
The darksome hours away,
And rise on faith's expanded wing
To everlasting day.

Source: A Collection of Evangelical Hymns #CXLV

All representative texts • Compare texts ^ top

Author: Anne Steele

Anne Steele was the daughter of Particular Baptist preacher and timber merchant William Steele. She spent her entire life in Broughton, Hampshire, near the southern coast of England, and devoted much of her time to writing. Some accounts of her life portray her as a lonely, melancholy invalid, but a revival of research in the last decade indicates that she had been more active and social than what was previously thought. She was theologically conversant with Dissenting ministers and "found herself at the centre of a literary circle that included family members from various generations, as well as local literati." She chose a life of singleness to focus on her craft. Before Christmas in 1742, she declined a marriage proposal from contemporar… Go to person page >

^ top

Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	Thou only center of my rest
Title:	Desiring the Presence of God in Affliction
Author:	Anne Steele
Meter:	8.6.8.6
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain