God made all His creatures free

Representative Text

1 God made all his creatures free;
Life itself is liberty;
God ordained no other bands
Than united hearts and hands.

2 Sin the primal charter broke:--
Sin, itself earth's heaviest yoke;
Tyranny with sin began,
Man o'er brute, and man o'er man.

3 But a better day shall be;
Life again be liberty;
And the wide world's only bands
Love-knit hearts and love-linked hands.

4 So shall every slavery cease,
All God's children dwell in peace,
And the new-born earth record
Love, and Love alone, is Lord.

Source: The Voice of Praise: a collection of hymns for the use of the Methodist Church #797

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: God made all His creatures free
Author: James Montgomery
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

God made all His creatures free. J. Montgomery. [Freedom.] This hymn is No. iv. of his "Songs on the Abolition of Negro Slavery, in the British Colonies, Aug. 1,1834." It is in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled, "Slavery that is not." These "Songs" were published in his Poet's Portfolio, 1835. As given in Longfellow and Johnson's Unitarian Book of Hymns, 1848, and other American collections, it is composed of stanzas i., ii., v., vi., slightly altered. It is not in common use in Great Britain.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 25 of 25)
Text

A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion (15th ed.) #189

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A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion. (10th ed.) #189

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A Collection of Hymns, for the use of the United Brethren in Christ #865

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Christian Science Hymnal #a144

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Christian Science Hymnal #a191

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Christian Science Hymnal #aa144

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Christian Science Hymnal #aa191

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Christian Science Hymnal #144

Christian Science Hymnal (Rev. and enl.) #83

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Christian Science Hymnal #144a

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Christian Science Hymnal #144b

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Christian Science Hymnal #144c

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Christian Science Hymnal #144

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Christian Science Hymnal #191

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Church Harmonies #898

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Good-Will Songs #48

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Hymns of the Spirit #704

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Plymouth Collection #a1039

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Plymouth Collection of Hymns and Tunes; for the use of Christian Congregations #1039

Prayers and Hymns for the Church and the Home #d191

Sacred Songs for Church and Home #d141

Songs for the New Day #d23

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The Baptist Hymn and Tune Book #1039

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The Gospel Psalmist #285

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The Voice of Praise #797

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