To God most awful and most high. J. Montgomery. [In time of Scarcity.] Written for the laying of the foundation stone of a Corn Mill at Sheffield, on Nov. 5, 1795, which was "built for the common use and benefit of the people." It was printed in Montgomery's Sheffield Iris newspaper the same day, and signed "Paul Positive," a nom de plume of the author. It subsequently appeared in Cotterill's Selection, 1819, No. 260; Montgomery's Christian Psalmist, 1825, No. 532; and his Original Hymns, 1853, No. 276. In the last two it is headed, "The poor praying for bread in the time of scarcity," It is found in a few modern hymnbooks.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)