Almighty God, in humble prayer

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 >

Almighty God, in humble prayer. J. Montgomery. [For Wisdom.] This hymn is in the "M. MSS.," but undated. It was published in Montgomery's Christian Psalmist, 1825, No. 498, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines and entitled "Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom." It is repeated, without alteration, in his Original Hymns, 1853, No. 70. In modern collections it is usually given in an abbreviated form, as in Windle's Metrical Psalter & Hymnal, No. 11, Harland's Church Psalter, No. 199, the American Sabbath Hymn Book, &c.

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)