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Pleading the Promises

Mercy alone can meet my case

Author: James Montgomery
Published in 44 hymnals

Representative Text

Mercy alone can meet my case;
For mercy, Lord, I cry;--
Jesus! Redeemer! show thy face
In mercy, or I die.

Save me, for none beside can save;
At thy command I tread,
With failing step, life's stormy wave;
The wave goes o'er my head.

I perish, and my doom were just;
But wilt thou leave me? No:
I hold Thee fast, my hope, my trust,
I will not let Thee go.

Still sure to me Thy promise stands,
And ever must abide;
Behold it written on Thy hands,
And graven in Thy side.

To this, this only, will I cleave,
Thy word is all my plea;
Thy word is truth, and I believe:
Have mercy, Lord, on me.



Source: Sacred Poems and Hymns #173

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: Mercy alone can meet my case
Title: Pleading the Promises
Author: James Montgomery
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Mercy alone can meet my case. J. Montgomery. [Lent.] In Holland’s Memoirs of Montgomery this hymn is referred to under the following circumstances. Speaking to Holland on April 3, 1925, of the Rev. Peter Haslem, Montgomery said:--

”On Sunday afternoon he preached in Carver Street Chapel [Sheffield]; there were few persons present besides myself and some servant girls. What were the divisions or the style of his sermon I do not recollect; but the text—‘O save me for Thy mercies’ sake’ (Ps vi. 4)—was so powerfully impressed upon my mind that it has never since ceased to influence me; Hundreds and thousands of times have I repeated it in meditation and prayer, and I feel at this moment that if I am saved at last, it must be through the free, unmerited mercy of God, exercised towards me for the Savior’s sake,”—Vol. iv., p. 103.

The hymn was published in Montgomerys’ Christian Psalmist, 1825, No. 463, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed with Mr. Haslem’s text, “O save me for Thy mercies’ sake”; and in his Original Hymns, 1853, No. 173.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 44 of 44)
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A Collection of Hymns for the use of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in America #391

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A New Selection of Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs #963

Compilation of Hymns for the Use of the Churches of the Christian Union #d443

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Dupuy's Hymns and Spiritual Songs (Rev. corr. and enl.) #229

General Baptist Hymn Book #d305

Gospel Light, or Hymns and Tunes for all Occasions of Christian Work and Worship #d267

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Hymn Book of the Methodist Protestant Church #331

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Hymn Book of the Methodist Protestant Church. (11th ed.) #331

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Hymns for the Use of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. ed. #391

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Hymns for Youth, Suitable to be Used in Sabbath and Parochial Schools #43

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New Christian Hymn and Tune Book #289

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New Christian Hymn and Tune Book #289

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New Hymn and Tune book #11a

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New Hymn and Tune Book #11a

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Parish Hymns #244

Parish Psalmody #d466

Parish Psalmody #d478

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Plymouth Collection #a435

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Plymouth Collection of Hymns and Tunes; for the use of Christian Congregations #435

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Revival Hymns #300

Text

Sacred Poems and Hymns #173

The American Hymn and Tune Book #d484

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The Baptist Hymn and Tune Book #435

The Book of Praise #d199

The Book of Worship #d307

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The Camp-Meeting Chorister #253

The Chapel Hymn Book #d234

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The Christian Hymn Book #361

The Christian Hymnal #d421

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The Christian Hymnal #288

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The Christian hymnal #289

The Christian Hymnist #d343

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The Heart and Voice #175b

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The Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs of the Rev. Isaac Watts, D. D. #D312

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The Tribute of Praise and Methodist Protestant Hymn Book #241

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The Tribute of Praise #241

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The Tribute of Praise #241

Union Hymns. Rev. #d240

Union Hymns. Rev. #d242

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