O blest religion, heavenly fair

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O blest religion, heavenly fair

Author: Anne Steele
Published in 4 hymnals

Representative Text

I. O blest religion, heav'nly fair!
Thy kind, thy healing pow'r,
Can sweeten pain, alleviate care,
And gild each gloomy hour.

II. When dismal thoughts, and boding fears
The trembling heart invade;
And all the face of nature wears,
A universal shade:

III. Thy sacred dictates can asswage
The tempest of the soul,
And ev'ry fear shall lose its rage
At thy divine controul.

IV. Thro' life's bewilder'd, darksome way,
Thy hand unerring leads;
And o'er the path, thy heav'nly ray,
A chearing lustre sheds.

V. When feeble reason, tir'd and blind,
Sinks helpless and afraid;
Thou blest supporter of the mind,
How pow'rful is thy aid!

VI. O let my heart confess thy pow'r,
And find thy sweet relief,
To brighten ev'ry gloomy hour,
And soften ev'ry grief.

Source: Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, Vol. 2 #35

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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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