In spirit when I took my flight

Author: James Montgomery
Published in 1 hymnal

Representative Text

In spirit when I took my flight
Above the mount, to see
My Lord, transfigured in the light
Of His own Deity:--

I cried, not knowing what I said,
"'Tis good to tarry here!"
But, when the heavenly vision fled,
Transport gave way to fear.

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No longer counting all things loss,
To glory in His name,
I thought it hard to bear the cross,
Hard to despise the shame.

Ah! thus, my soul, it should not be;
Lord Jesus! hear my prayer;
Give me a heart to follow Thee
All times, and every where.

Let but Thy presence with me go,
Thy love be my delight,
Then shall I walk, through weal or woe,
By faith, and not by sight.

Sacred Poems and Hymns

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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 >

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