This is the day the Lord hath made,
Let young and old rejoice;
To Him be vows and homage paid,
Whose service is our choice.
This is the temple of the Lord,
How dreadful is this place!
With meekness let us hear His word,
With reverence seek His face.
This is the homage He requires,--
The voice of praise and prayer,
The soul's affections, hopes, desires,
Ourselves and all we are.
While rich and poor for mercy call,
Propitious from the skies,
The Lord, the Maker of them all,
Accepts the sacrifice.
Well-pleased through Jesus Christ His Son,
From sin he grants release;
According to their faith 'tis done,
He bids them go in peace.
Source: Sacred Poems and Hymns #95
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 >| First Line: | This is the day the Lord hath made, Let young and old rejoice |
| Title: | This Is the Day the Lord Hath Made |
| Author: | James Montgomery |
| Meter: | 8.6.8.6 |
| Language: | English |
| Copyright: | Public Domain |
This is the day the Lord hath made, Let young and old rejoice. J. Montgomery. [Sunday.] Written for the Sheffield Red Hill Sunday School Anniversary, held on March 26, 1820, and printed on a fly sheet for that occasion. It was repeated in Montgomery's Christian Psalmist, 1825, No. 467; and again in his Original Hymns, 1853, No. 95, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. Its use is limited.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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