The Bird that Soars On Highest Wing

Top Text Author Text Info Notes Tune Timeline Page Scans Instances

The bird that soars on highest wing

Author: James Montgomery
Published in 21 hymnals

Representative Text

The bird that soars on highest wing,
Builds on the ground her lowly nest;
And she that doth most sweetly sing,
Sings in the shade when all things rest:
In lark and nightingale we see
What honour hath humility.

When Mary chose the "better part,"
She meekly sat at Jesus' feet
And Lydia's gently-open'd heart
Was made for God's own temple meet;
Fairest and best adorned is she,
Whose clothing is humility.

The saint that wears heaven's brightest crown,
In deepest adoration bends;
The weight of glory bows him down,
Then most, when most his soul ascends;
Nearest the throne itself must be
The footstool of humility.

Sacred Poems and Hymns

All representative texts • Compare texts • Text size: Regular | Large ^ top

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 >

^ top

First Line:	The bird that soars on highest wing
Title:	The Bird that Soars On Highest Wing
Author:	James Montgomery
Meter:	8.8.8.8.8.8
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

1 Peter 5:5
(hymns)

^ top

Notes

The bird that soars on highest wing. J. Montgomery. [Humility.] This poem appeared in his Poet's Portfolio, 1835, p. 179, in 3 stanzas of 6 lines, and headed "Humility." It is given as a hymn in several collections, including Martineau's Hymns, &c, 1840; the Prim. Methodist Sunday School Union Hymn Book, 1879, and others in Great Britain and America.

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

^ top