Long and mournful is the night

Long and mournful is the night

Author: Anne Steele
Published in 6 hymnals

Representative Text

Long and mournful is the night,
Mental night of gloomy fear:
Source of comfort, source of light
When, O when wilt thou appear!
Thy beams alone can bid the gloom depart,
And spread celestial morning o'er my heart.

Morning of that glorious day
Which the blest enjoy above,
Where with full unclouded ray
Shines thy everlasting love:
Where joy triumphant fills the bright abode,
O happy world! fair paradise of God!

Thither if the heart aspire,
Shall it, Lord, aspire in vain?
Shall the breathings of desire
Rise with unavailing pain?
O thou my guide, my solace, and my rest,
In this sad desert shall I rove unblest?

Sure the Lord of life is near
Though a cloud his face conceal:
Jesus, when wilt thou appear,
When thy cheering beams reveal?
When shall thy beams of soul-reviving light
Dispel this gloomy cloud this mental night?

Not in vain aspires the heart
That depends on thee alone;
Light and joy thou wilt impart,
Radiant dawn of bliss unknown.
Here let me wait beneath thy guardian wing
Till from thy smile celestial morning spring.

Source: Miscellaneous Pieces in Verse and Prose #26

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 >

Text Information

First Line: Long and mournful is the night
Author: Anne Steele
Copyright: Public Domain

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Instances

Instances (1 - 6 of 6)

A Collection of Hymns from Various Authors. New ed. #d195

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Hymns, Suitable for the Devotion of Families and Churches #XIII

The Universalist Hymn Book #d268

Page Scan

The Universalist Hymn-Book #211

Text

Miscellaneous Pieces in Verse and Prose #26

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