When gloomy thoughts and fears

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When gloomy thoughts and fears

Author: Anne Steele
Published in 54 hymnals

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Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 When gloomy thoughts and fears
The trembling heart invade,
And all the face of nature wears
A universal shade;

2 Religion can assuage
The tempest of the soul;
And ev'ry fear shall lose its rage
At her divine control.

3 Through life's bewilder'd way,
Her hand unerring leads;
And o'er the path her heavenly ray
A cheering lustre sheds.

4 When reason, tired and blind,
Sinks helpless and afraid,
Thou blest supporter of the mind,
How powerful is thine aid!

5 Oh, let me feel thy power,
And find thy sweet relief,
To brighten ev'ry gloomy hour,
And soften ev'ry grief.

Source: Book of Worship (Rev. ed.) #446

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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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