Support in Trouble

Representative Text

Though terrors late alarm'd my breast,
And rais'd a threatening tempest there,
Yet, Lord, my passions own thy hand,
The storm subsides at thy command,
And now my calmer thoughts attest
Thy well-try'd love, thy long experienc'd care.

Faith, scarce discern'd a glimpse of light,
Hope languish'd with dejected eye,
Reason, (weak empress of the mind)
To passion had the helm consign'd,
Loud was the storm and dark the night,
But thy supporting, guardin hand was nigh.

Almighty Saviour, gracious Lord,
Thou only refuge of my soul,
Thy sovereign voice when I can hear,
I gain new strength to combat fear,
Hope rests on thy unchanging word,
Thy word can every rising fear controul.

Hence, guilty diffidence be gone,
With all thy train of boding fears;
Let faith and calm expectance wait,
And cheerful hope, with eye sedate,
Look up and watch the smiling dawn
That through the sable veil of night appears.

That smiling dawn derives its ray
From the full source of light divine;
O sun of righteousness, impart
Thy healing radiance to my heart!
Increasing till celestial day
Dispel the gloom, and joy unclouded shine.

Source: Miscellaneous Pieces in Verse and Prose #34

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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 >

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Text Information

Text Information

First Line:	Though terrors late alarm'd my breast
Title:	Support in Trouble
Author:	Anne Steele (1780)
Language:	English
Publication Date:	1780
Copyright:	This text is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before 1929.