When, like a stranger on our sphere

Representative Text

When, like a stranger on our sphere,
The lowly Jesus sojourn'd here,
Where'er He went Affliction fled,
And Sickness rear'd her drooping head.

The eye That roll'd in irksome night
Beheld His face, for He was light;
The opening ear, the loosen'd tongue,
His precepts heard, His praises sung.

Demoniac Madness, dark and wild,
With melancholy transport smiled;
The storm of horror ceased to roll,
And reason lighten'd through his soul.

His touch the outcast leper heal'd,
His lips the sinner's pardon seal'd;
The palsied frame, the crippled limb,
Felt Virtue going forth from Him.

306
Behold Him in the wilderness,
He lifts His hand the bread to bless;
And while the fainting multitude
Look'd up to Him, gave all their food.

In Him with man's infirmity,
The fulness of the Godhead see,
Warm tears o'er Lazarus He shed,
Then spake the word that raised the dead.

Through paths of loving-kindness brought,
May all our work in Him be wrought;
In His great Name, let us dispense
The crumbs of our benevolence.

Hark! the sweet voice of pity calls
Misfortune to these hallow'd walls;
The breaking heart, and burthen'd breast,
And helpless Poverty distrest.

Here the whole family of woe
Shall friends, and home, and comfort know;
The blasted form and shipwreck'd mind,
Shall here a tranquil haven find.

And Thou, dread Power! whose sovereign breath,
Is health or sickness, life or death,
Send Thine abundant blessing down,
And with success our labours crown.

Sacred Poems and Hymns

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: When, like a stranger on our sphere
Author: James Montgomery
Meter: 8.8.8.8
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

When like a stranger on our sphere. J. Montgomery. Public Hospitals.] Of this hymn there are two texts, details of which are as follows:—(1) It was written for the opening of the Sheffield Infirmary, October, 1797, and printed in Montgomery's Iris newspaper, Oct. 6,1797. In 1819 it was included in Cotterill’s Selection, No. 246, in 4 stanzas of 8 lines, and entitled "At a Sermon for an Infirmary." In 1825 this text was repeated, with slight alterations, in Montgomery's Christian Psalmist, No. 531, broken into 8 stanzas of 4 lines, entitled "For a Public Hospital." (2) Amongst the Montgomery manuscripts there is a manuscript of this hymn in 10 stanzas, and thus dated: "Revised, June 2, 1844." It is this revised text which was given by Montgomery in his Original Hymns, 1853, No. 286, under the heading "Hymn for the Opening of the Sheffield Infirmary, October, 1797," and from which Dr. Kennedy, in his Hymnologia Christiana 1863, and other modern editors have taken their text. The older hymnbooks have the text as in Cotterill’s Selection whilst most of the modern collections follow that of the Original Hymns, 1853.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 75 of 75)
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A Collection of Hymns #70

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A Selection of Spiritual Songs #259

Calvary Selection of Spiritual Songs with Music for the Church and the Choir #d1006

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Carmina Sanctorum, a selection of hymns and songs of praise with tunes #181

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Carmina Sanctorum #181

Chapel Hymns #d639

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Christian Science Hymnal #a19

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Christian Science Hymnal #aa19

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Christian Science Hymnal #19

Christian Science Hymnal (Rev. and enl.) #388

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Christian Science Hymnal #19a

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Christian Science Hymnal #19b

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Christian Science Hymnal #19c

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Christian Science Hymnal #19

Gloria in Excelsis #d754

Hymn Service No.2 #d117

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Hymns and Songs for Social and Sabbath Worship #170

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Hymns and Songs for Social and Sabbath Worship. (Rev. ed.) #170

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Hymns and Songs of Praise for Public and Social Worship #204

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Hymns for Christian Devotion #787

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Hymns for Christian Devotion #787

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Hymns for the Sanctuary and Social Worship #240

Hymns for Use in Divine Worship ... Seventh-Day Adventists #d1280

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Laudes Domini #370

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Laudes Domini #154

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Many Voices; or, Carmina Sanctorum, Evangelistic Edition with Tunes #104

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Our New Hymnal #180

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Our Song Book #110a

Our Sunday-School Songs #34

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Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs #499

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Psalms and Hymns, for Christian Use and Worship #H117

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Rich in Blessing #155

Text

Sacred Poems and Hymns #286

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Select Sunday School Songs #34

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Song-Hymnal of Praise and Joy #316

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Songs for the Sanctuary, or Hymns and Tunes for Christian Worship #305

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Songs for the Sanctuary; or Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (Baptist Ed.) #305

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Songs for the Sanctuary; or, Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (Words only) #305

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Songs for the Sanctuary #305

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Songs for the Sanctuary #305

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Songs for the Sanctuary #305

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Songs of Praise #33

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Songs of the Church #166

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Sunlight in Sacred Song #27

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Sursum Corda #181a

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Sursum Corda #181b

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The Baptist Hymnal, for Use in the Church and Home #117

The Baptist Hymnal #117

The Baptist Hymnal. Shaped notes ed. #d650

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The Baptist Praise Book #316

The Book of Praise #d884

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The Choral Hymnal #110

The Church Hymn Book #d623

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The Church Hymnary #236

The Church of God Selection of Spiritual Songs for the Church and Choir #d1002

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The Clifton Chapel Collection of "Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs" #71

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The Evangelical Hymnal with Tunes #220

The Gospel Praise Book #d509

The Halifax Selection of Hymns #d472

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The Hymnary with Tunes #39

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The Manual of Praise for Sabbath and Social Worship #176

The National Baptist Hymn Book #d586

The National Baptist Hymn Book #ad586

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The National Baptist Hymnal #141

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The New Hymnary #39

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The New Laudes Domini #357

The People's Praise Book or Carmina Sanctorum #d696

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The Presbyterian Hymnal #126

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The Presbyterian Hymnal #126

The Sacred Lute #d384

The Service of Song for Baptist Churches #d989

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The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book #303

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The Voice of Praise #172

Exclude 74 pre-1979 instances
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