Psalm XLII

As the poor hart, tir'd in the chase

Author: Anne Steele (1760)
Published in 1 hymnal

Representative Text

I. As the poor hart, tir'd in the chase,
Pants for the cool refreshing flood,
So pants my soul for streams of grace,
Thy cheering visits, O my God.

II. For God my thirsty spirit longs,
The sacred spring of living joy;
When shall I come with thankful songs,
Before my God? divine employ!

III. Thro' the sad night and mournful day
My flowing tears have been my food,
While taunting foes continual say,
"And where is now thy Saviour God?"

IV. My melting soul in grief is spent,
When I resolve my happier days;
When with the joyful throng I went
To thy abode with songs of praise.

V. Why, O my soul, thus sink in woe?
Why thus with restless sorrows torn?
Hope thou in God; my song shall flow,
For his bright presence will return.

VI. My heart sinks down oppress'd with grief;
Yet, O my God, I'll call to mind
Those seasons past, for my relief,
When I was blest, and thou wast kind.

VII. Thy terrors overwhelm my soul,
Wave after wave, with dreadful roar;
So stormy seas like mountains roll
And swelling billows drown the shore.

VIII. Yet will the Lord command his care,
His love (sweet morn!) shall chear mine eyes;
And mix'd with praise my nightly pray'r,
God of my life, to thee shall rise.

IX. To thee, I'll cry, my God, my rock;
Ah, why hast thou forgot thy care?
Why mourn I thus beneath the stroke
Of foes, who drive me near despair?

X. Their sharp reproaches pierce my heart
With daily anguish, while they say
(The thought is like a pointed dart,)
Where is thy God, thy boasted stay?

XI. Why sinks my fainting spirit down?
Why do my restless passions mourn?
What, tho' my God a moment frown,
His blissful smile will yet return.

XII. Then shall I spread his pow'r abroad,
His smile my drooping hope shall raise;
My light, my health, my Saviour God,
Shall tune my sighs to songs of praise.

Source: Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, Vol. 2 #171

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: As the poor hart, tir'd in the chase
Title: Psalm XLII
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 #171

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