In Hope, Hoping Against Hope

Top Text Author Text Info Timeline Page Scans Instances

Why sinks my weak desponding mind

Author: Anne Steele
Published in 68 hymnals

Representative Text

1 Why sinks my weak, desponding mind?
Why heaves my heart the anxious sigh?
Can sovereign Goodness be unkind?
Am I not safe when God is nigh?

2 'Tis He supports this fainting frame,
On Him alone my hopes recline;
The wondrous glories of His name,
How wide they spread! how bright they shine:

3 Infinite wisdom! boundless power!
Unchanging faithfulness and love!
Here let me trust, while I adore,—
And from my refuge ne'er remove.

4 My God, if Thou art mine indeed,
Then I have all my heart can crave;
A present help in times of need;
Still kind to hear, and strong to save.

5 Forgive my doubts, oh gracious Lord!
And ease the sorrows of my breast;
Speak to my heart the healing word,
That Thou art mine—and I am blest.

Source: The Book of Worship #223

All representative texts • Compare texts ^ top

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 >

^ top