James Montgomery

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.  May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. Psalm 72:1-4; 8

 Hail to the Lord’s Anointed LBW 87

 1    Hail to the Lord’s anointed, great David’s greater Son!
     Hail, in the time appointed, his reign on earth begun!
      He comes to break oppression, to set the captive free,
      to take away transgression and rule in equity.

2    He comes with rescue speedy to those who suffer wrong,
      to help the poor and needy, and bid the weak be strong;
      to give them songs for sighing, their darkness turn to light,
      whose souls, condemned and dying, were precious in his sight.

3    He shall come down like showers upon the fruitful earth;
      and love, joy, hope, like flowers, spring in his path to birth.
      Before him on the mountains shall peace, the herald, go;
      and righteousness in fountains from hill to valley flow.

4    Kings shall fall down before him, and gold and incense bring;
      all nations shall adore him, his praise all people sing.
      To him shall prayer unceasing and daily vows ascend;
      his kingdom still increasing, a kingdom without end.

Text: James Montgomery, 1771-1854

James Montgomery was a Scottish-born hymn writer and poet raised in and theologically trained by Moravian missionaries.  His writings reflected concern for many humanitarian issues, among them abolition of slavery and the exploitation of children.  Because of this passion for social justice, he was often invited to address crowds, and suffered no insignificant persecution from the government. At one such gathering where he spoke on the evils of slavery, a storm broke out and the wind and thunder imploded one of the back windows, dowsing the lights and plunging the crowd into darkness.  The hall was quite full, but before panic set in, he said in a clear resonate voice; “do not worry about the darkness around you, for there is always light within you!”  He calmly continued and at the end, read lyrics of a hymn he had finished that day; “He shall come down like showers upon the fruitful earth; and love, joy, hope, like flowers, spring in his path to birth. Before him on the mountains shall peace, the herald, go; and righteousness in fountains from hill to valley flow.”

Prayer: Lord in the midst of life’s sudden storms, give us clarity of heart, calmness of spirit and light in the darkness.  Amen.