A grain of corn an infant's hand

A grain of corn an infant's hand

Author: James Montgomery
Published in 4 hymnals

Representative Text

A grain of corn an infant's hand
May plant upon an inch of land,
Whence twenty stalks may spring, and yield
Enough to stock a little field.

The harvest of that field might then
Be multiplied to ten times ten,
Which sown thrice more, would furnish bread
Wherewith an army might be fed.
262

A penny is a little thing
Which even the poor man's child may fling
Into the treasury of heaven,
And make it worth as much as seven.

As seven! nay, worth its weight in gold,
And that increased a million fold;
For lo! a penny tract, if well
Applied, may save a soul from hell.

That soul can scarce be saved alone,--
It must, it will, its bliss make known;
"Come," it will cry, "and you shall see
What great things God hath done for me."

Hundreds that joyful sound may hear
Hear with the heart as well as ear;
And these to thousands more proclaim,
Salvation in the "Only Name."

That "Only Name," above, below,
Let Jews, and Turks, and Pagans know;
Till every tongue and tribe shall call
On "Jesus Christ" as Lord of all!

The day of small things God will not
Despise, the least are unforgot;
An orphan's offering, widow's mite,
Are precious in their Maker's sight.

Children! who now hosannas raise,
Out of whose mouths He perfects praise,
263
Spare from the little you possess,
What God will own, accept and bless.

Till through the east, the south, the west,
Gifts from the north will be so blest,
That, in the end, earth's countless throngs
Shall sing with us this song of songs:--

"Worthy the Lamb for sinners slain,
Power, riches, honour to obtain,
Who loved and wash'd us in His blood,
And made us kings and priests to God."

Sacred Poems and Hymns

Author: James Montgomery

James Montgomery (b. Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, 1771; d. Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, 1854), the son of Moravian parents who died on a West Indies mission field while he was in boarding school, Montgomery inherited a strong religious bent, a passion for missions, and an independent mind. He was editor of the Sheffield Iris (1796-1827), a newspaper that sometimes espoused radical causes. Montgomery was imprisoned briefly when he printed a song that celebrated the fall of the Bastille and again when he described a riot in Sheffield that reflected unfavorably on a military commander. He also protested against slavery, the lot of boy chimney sweeps, and lotteries. Associated with Christians of various persuasions, Montgomery supported missio… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: A grain of corn an infant's hand
Author: James Montgomery
Meter: 8.8.8.8
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 4 of 4)
Page Scan

Sabbath School Bell No. 2 #35b

Text

Sacred Poems and Hymns #258

The Anniversary and Sunday School Music Book No. 1-5 #d1

Page Scan

Young Singer's Friend #a69

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