Refuge Of My Weary Soul: Selected Works of Anne Steele

by Anne Steele, Alex J. Webster (Editor), Kevin Twit (Foreword)

Born in 1717 to a prosperous family in the United Kingdom, Anne Steele spent her life in cheerful devotion to her father's lay pastorate, various friendships, and her prolific religious writings. Her hymns, poems, and psalms-once well known and featured in early-nineteenth-century hymnals-have sadly receded to the background of modern worship.

But in Refuge of My Weary Soul: The Collected Works of Anne Steele, believers of all ages and backgrounds will find the perfect devotional and worship guide. At the crux of her writing is the reality of sustaining faith despite difficulty-a timelessly relevant theme that resonates with all generations.

Alex Webster edited and compiled Steele's works with the intent of retaining the original meter of the hymns and has ordered Steele's other works in a format accessible to today's readers. The result is the recapturing of some of the eighteenth century's most heartfelt and beloved religious writings.

The formative dimension of worship goes without saying. These refreshingly honest expressions of hope and faith amid one woman's struggles with various issues-including serious health problems-will inspire you to see the beauty and blessing that come from running with patience the race that is this Christian life.

Genres: Christian, Poetry

474 pages, Paperback

Published August 29, 2017

About the author

Hymn writer, psalmist, and poet Anne Steele was born in 1717 in Broughton, Hampshire, United Kingdom. Possessing a strong faith, she remained single, devoting her life to helping her lay pastor father and pouring her soul into her creative works. She was renowned for her writings, and many of her pieces held pride of place in early-nineteenth-century hymnals.

Reviews

[Barnabas Piper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Steele has some brilliant poems and hymns, but for the most part it felt like the same weary, beaten down poem repeated page after page. Even the rhyme schemes and meters were redundant. It came to be a drone after about 30 pages and headache after about 60. It was hard to draw the goodness from the poems after a while.

[Harper Roderick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This woman was used and is still being used by the Lord to display His beauty. Her verses still display the beauty of the gospel and Christian walk with accuracy, sublimity, and transcendency. I cannot recommend her enough to readers of the English language who love the seeing Christ proclaimed through poetry in our heart tongue.

[Seth Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her works were underrated.

[Taylor Bradbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first deep dive into Anne Steele. I was deeply encouraged by some of Steele’s hymns and poems. At other times I felt a little weighed down.

3.25/5

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I come to Anne Steele's words as a Sacred Harp singer - I have sung her hymns for some years, and since she is one of the few female writers included in The Sacred Harp: The Best Collection of Sacred Songs, Hymns, Odes, and Anthems Ever Offered the Singing Public for General Use, I was intrigued to read more of her works. What I learned is that her poems are more beautiful and have more depth than what is represented by the few short stanzas that I have sung. In particular, her appreciation of God in creation (including in insects and worms) has delighted me ever since reading this book.

I have not read all of her poems, but will do so from time to time, so while I haven't really "finished" this book, it's time to move it from the bedside table to the shelf.