Psalm CXLII

To God, the refuge of his saints

Author: Anne Steele (1760)
Published in 1 hymnal

Representative Text

I. To God, the refuge of his saints,
I humbly breath'd my ardent pray'r,
And pour'd out all my long complaints,
And spread before him ev'ry care.

II. My spirit overwhelm'd with grief,
Surrounding snares beset my way;
Of thee, O Lord, I sought relief,
Whose eyes my devious path survey.

III. All other helps I found were vain,
And hope, and friends, and comfort fail'd;
To thee alone I told my pain,
While yet my potent fears prevail'd.

IV. To thee, my God, I breath'd my cries,
Dear refuge of my fainting heart;
Thou all on whom my hope relies,
I am undone if thou depart.

V. Thou see'st me wretched, weak and low;
O Lord, attend my plaintive cry,
And save me from my ev'ry foe:
My foes how strong! how weak am I?

VI. O free my soul, dissolve the chain,
Then shall I spread thy praise abroad;
Thy saints shall join the grateful strain,
And speak the bounties of my God.

Source: Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, Vol. 2 #236

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: To God, the refuge of his saints
Title: Psalm CXLII
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. 2 #236

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