"Dear Refuge Of My Weary Soul"

I have become very fond of a beautiful hymn written by Anne Steele who lived long ago in the 18th Century. It is not very well known now, but is beginning to be back in fashion again because Kevin Twit of Indelible Grace - a traditional worship band begun in the PCA - took the words written by Anne and put them to new music. It is entitled "Dear Refuge Of My Weary Soul."   Click here to listen. 

I have ordered the biography of Anne Steele that is pictured on the right and upon which Kevin Twit has based this short summary of her life: 

"She was born in Broughton, England where her father, who was a fairly well-off timber merchant, preached at the Particular Baptist church for 60 years. She actually lived only 15 miles from the great Isaac Watts. Although it is unlikely that they ever met, she mentions his work with fondness in one of her hymns. Her mother died when she was 3 years old, and by 14 it seems she was bothered by chronic recurring malaria which took a progressive toll on her health. She also had painful stomach problems and severe teeth pain and her health was never very good. She received her education through being sent to boarding schools, even though the local pastor condemned her stepmother for doing this. Her home was one in which reading literature and poems was one of the fondest activities.

She was thrown from a horse and injured when she was 19, but makes no mention of this later in her diary and it is not true (as some have reported) that she was an invalid for life from this injury. It has been widely reported that when she was 21, she was engaged to Robert Elcomb, but that the day before the wedding he was drowned while bathing in a river! However, while he may have been courting her, they were not a day from their wedding when this tragedy occurred. In fact, she had numerous wedding proposals after this (including one from Baptist pastor and hymn writer Benjamin Beddome) but she chose a life of singleness. Her stepsister had a difficult marriage and this may have influenced Anne’s decision, but she also felt that singleness provided her the opportunity to serve the Lord in other ways. Had she chosen to become a busy pastor’s wife she may not have been able to write so many poems and hymns. So, she lived with her father and stepmother, who cared for her health problems, and who fixed her an elegant room with a fireplace to write her poems. She assisted her father in his pastoral labors, although for the last 9 years of her life, she was never able to leave her bed.

Still in spite of all of this her disposition was described as “cheerful and helpful” and her life as one of “unaffected humility, warm benevolence, sincere friendship, and genuine devotion.” In reading Sharon James’ account of her home-life I am reminded of the settings in some of Jane Austen’s novels. She was a bright and cheerful woman, but one who suffered greatly from her ongoing health problems. Her hymns reveal that her health problems provoked great spiritual struggles as well and she is often wrestling with doubts and assurance of salvation.

Caleb Evans describes her death, “Having been confined to her chamber for some nine years, she had long waited with Christian dignity for the hour of her departure. And when the time came, she welcomed its arrival; and though her feeble body was excruciated with pain, her mind was perfectly serene. She took a most affectionate leave of her weeping friends around her, and at length, the happy moment of her dismission arriving, she closed her eyes, and with these words upon her dying lips, ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth,’ she gently fell asleep in Jesus.”"