Come, weary souls with sin distressed

Come, weary souls with sin distressed. Anne Steele* (1717-1778). From Poems on Subjects chiefly devotional (1760). It was entitled ‘Weary Souls invited to Rest. Mat. xi. 28.’ It is a versification of the beautifully expressed and very comforting saying, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ It had five stanzas: Come weary souls with sin distrest, The Saviour offers heavenly rest; The kind, the gracious call obey, And cast your gloomy sins away. Oppress’d with guilt, a painful load, O come, and spread your woes abroad; Divine compassion, mighty love, Will all the painful load remove. Here mercy’s boundless ocean flows, To cleanse your guilt and...