James Montgomery

Born:  November 4, 1771, Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland.

Died:  April 30, 1854, Mount, Sheffield, England.

Buried: Sheffield, England. In his memory, a statue was erected in the Sheffield cemetery, a stained glass window was installed in the parish church, and a public hall was named after him.

     When Montgomery was five years old, his family moved to the Moravian settlement at Gracehill, near Ballymena, County Antrim. Two years later, he was sent to the Fulneck Seminary in Yorkshire. He left Fulneck in 1787 to work in a shop in Mirfield, near Wakefield. Soon tiring of that, he secured a similar position at Wath, near Rotherham, only to find it as unsuitable as his previous job. A trip to London, hoping to find a publisher for his youthful poems, ended in failure. In 1792, he gladly left Wath for Sheffield to be assistant to Mr. Gales, auctioneer, bookseller, and printer of the Sheffield Register. In 1794, Gales left England to avoid political prosecution. Montgomery took the Shef­field Register in hand, changed its name to the Sheffield Iris, and continued to edit it for 32 years. During the next two years he was imprisoned twice, first for reprinting a song in commemoration of the fall of the Bastille, then for giving an account of a riot in Sheffield.
    The editing of his paper, the composition and publication of his poems and hymns, the delivery of lectures on poetry in Sheffield and at the Royal Institution, London, and the advocacy of foreign missions and the Bible Society, gave great variety, but very little of stirring incident in his life, though he did find time to write 400 hymns. In 1833, Montgomery received a royal pension of £200 per year. His works include:

Hymns

  1. According to Thy Gracious Word
  2. Angels from the Realm of Glory
  3. Be Known to Us in Breaking Bread
  4. Behold the Book Whose Leaves Display
  5. Behold Yon Bright Array
  6. Bright and Joyful is the Morn
  7. Call Jehovah Thy Salvation
  8. Christian Warrior, See Him Stand, The
  9. Come, Let Us Sing the Song of Songs
  10. Come to Calvary's Holy Mountain
  11. Come Ye That Fear the Lord
  12. Daughter of Zion, From the Dust
  13. Days and Years of Time Are Fled, The
  14. Fall Down, Ye Nations, and Adore
  15. Food, Raiment, Dwelling, Health and Friends
  16. Forever with the Lord
  17. Give Glory to God in the Highest
  18. Glad Was My Heart to Hear
  19. Glorious Universe Around, The
  20. Go to Dark Gethsemane
  21. Go Where a Foot Hath Never Trod
  22. God Be Merciful to Me
  23. God in the High and Holy Place
  24. God is My Strong Salvation
  25. God is Our Refuge and Defense
  26. God of Nature and of Grace, The
  27. Green Pastures and Clear Streams
  28. Hail to the Lord's Anointed
  29. Hark! The Song of Jubilee
  30. Hasten, Lord, to My Release
  31. Have Mercy on Me, O My God
  32. Hear Me, O Lord, in My Distress
  33. Hearken, Lord, to My Complaints
  34. Heaven Is a Place of Rest from Sin
  35. Heralds of Creation Cry
  36. Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts
  37. Home, Kindred, Friends, and Country, These
  38. How Beautiful the Sight
  39. How Precious Are Thy Thoughts of Peace
  40. I Cried unto the Lord Most Just
  41. I Love the Lord, He Lent an Ear
  42. In the Hour of Trial
  43. In Time of Tribulation
  44. Jehovah Is Great, and Great His Praise
  45. Jesus, Our Best Beloved Friend
  46. Judge Me, O Lord, in Righteousness
  47. Less Than the Least of All
  48. Let Me Go, the Day Is Breaking
  49. Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Gates of Brass
  50. Lord God, the Holy Ghost
  51. Lord Is King; Upon His Throne, The
  52. Lord is My Shepherd, The
  53. Lord, Let Me Know Mine End
  54. Lord, Let My Prayer Like Incense Rise
  55. Lord, Pour Thy Spirit from on High
  56. Lord, Teach Us How to Pray Aright
  57. Not Here, as to the Prophet's Eye
  58. Not in Jerusalem Alone
  59. Not to the Mount That Burned with Fire
  60. O Bless the Lord, My Soul
  61. O God, Thou Art My God Alone
  62. O Lord, Our King, How Excellent
  63. O My Soul, with All Thy Powers
  64. O Spirit of the Living God
  65. Of Old, O God, Thine Own Right Hand
  66. On the First Christian Sabbath Eve
  67. One Prayer I Have
  68. One Thing with All My Soul’s Desire
  69. Our Heavenly Father Hear
  70. Out of the Depths of Woe
  71. Palms of Glory
  72. People of the Living God
  73. Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief, A
  74. Pour Out Thy Spirit from on High
  75. Praise the Lord Through Every Nation
  76. Prayer is the Soul's Sincere Desire
  77. Pure and Peaceful Mind, The
  78. Return, My Soul, unto Thy Rest
  79. Searcher of Hearts, to Thee Are Known
  80. Servants of God, in Joyful Lays
  81. Sing We the Song
  82. Songs of Praise the Angels Sing
  83. Sow in the Morn Thy Seed
  84. Spirit of Power and Might, Behold
  85. Stand Up and Bless the Lord
  86. Tempter to My Soul Hath Said, The
  87. Thank and Praise Jehovah's Name
  88. Thee Will I Praise, O Lord in Light
  89. This Is the Day the Lord Hath Made
  90. Thrice Happy He Who Shuns the Way
  91. Thy Glory, Lord, the Heavens Declare
  92. Thy Law Is Perfect, Lord of Light
  93. Thy Word, Almighty Lord
  94. To Thy Temple I Repair
  95. We Bid Thee Welcome in the Name
  96. What Secret Hand at Morning Light
  97. When Jesus Left His Father's Throne
  98. When on Sinai’s Top I See
  99. Where Are the Dead?
  100. While Through This Changing World We Roam
  101. Who Make the Lord of Hosts Their Tower
  102. Within These Walls Be Peace
  103. World in Condemnation Lay, The
  104. Yes, I Will Extol Thee