Ye glittering toys of earth, adieu

Top Media Text Author Text Info Tune Timeline Page Scans Instances

Ye glittering toys of earth, adieu

Author: Anne Steele
Tune: FARNHAM (Mason)
Published in 140 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Representative Text

1 Ye glittering toys of earth, adieu,
A nobler choice be mine;
A real prize attracts my view,
A treasure all divine.

2 Begone, unworthy of my cares,
Ye specious baits of sense;
Inestimable worth appears
The pearl of price immense!

3 Jesus to multitudes unknown,
O name divinely sweet!
Jesus in thee, in thee alone,
Wealth, honor, pleasure meet,

4 Should both the Indies at my call,
Their boasted stores resign;
With joy I would renounce them all
For leave to call thee mine.

5 Should earth's vain treasures all depart,
Of this dear gift possessed
I'd clasp it to my joyful heart,
And be forever bless'\ed.

6 Dear sovereign of my soul's desires,
Thy love is bliss divine;
Accept, the wish that love inspires,
And bid me call thee mine.

The Hartford Selection of Hymns from the most approved authors, 1799

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