Aspiring Towards Heaven

Vain world, be gone, nor vex my heart

Author: Anne Steele (1760)
Published in 1 hymnal

Representative Text

I. Vain world, be gone, nor vex my heart
With thy deluding wiles;
Hence, empty promiser, depart
With all thy soothing smiles.

II. Superior bliss invites my eyes,
Delight unmix'd with woe;
Now let my nobler thoughts arise,
To joys unknown below.

III. Yon starry plains, how brightly they shine,
With radiant specks of light;
Fair pavement of the course divine,
That sparkles on the sight!

IV. 'Tis distance lessens ev'ry star;
Could I behold them nigh,
Bright worlds of wonder would appear
To my astonish'd eye!

V. Thus heav'nly joys attract my eyes,
My heart the lustre warms;
But could I reach those upper skies,
How infinite their charms!

VI.Come, heav'n-born faith, and aid my flight,
And guide my rising thought,
Till earth, still less'ning to my sight,
Shall vanish quite forgot.

VII. But when to reach those blissful plains
Her utmost ardor tries,
And almost hears the charming strains
Of hymning angels rise:

VIII. Mortality, with painful load,
Forbids the raptur'd flight;
In vain she means heav'n's bright abode,
And sinks to earth and night.

IX. O let thy love, my God, my King,
My hope, my heart, inspire;
And teach my faith with stronger wing
To rise, and warm desire.

X. Oft let thy shining visits cheer
This dark abode of clay,
'Till I shall leave these fetters here,
And rise to endless day.

Source: Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, Vol. 1 #139

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: Vain world, be gone, nor vex my heart
Title: Aspiring Towards Heaven
Author: Anne Steele (1760)
Language: English
Publication Date: 1760
Copyright: This text is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before 1929.

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Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, Vol. 1 #139

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