Clothed With Immortality

Representative Text

1 Spirit, leave thy house of clay;
Lingering dust, resign thy breath;
Spirit, cast thy chains away;
Dust, be thou dissolved in death!
Thus the mighty Saviour speaks,
While the faithful Christian dies;
Thus the bonds of life he breaks,
And the ransomed captive flies.

2 Prisoner, long detained below,
Prisoner, now with freedom blest,
Welcome from a world of woe;
Welcome to a land of rest:
Thus the choir of angels sing,
As they bear the soul on high,
While with hallelujahs ring
All the regions of the sky.

3 Grave! the guardian of our dust,
Grave! the treasury of the skies,
Every atom of thy trust
Rests in hope again to rise!
Hark! the judgment-trumpet calls--
Soul, rebuild thy house of clay:
Immortality thy walls,
And eternity thy day.

Source: The Voice of Praise: a collection of hymns for the use of the Methodist Church #918

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: Spirit, leave thy house of clay
Title: Clothed With Immortality
Author: James Montgomery
Meter: 7.7.7.7 D
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Spirit, leave thine house of clay. J. Montgomery. [Death and Burial.] This, in its original form, is a poem in 14 stanzas of 4 lines. It was printed in Montgomery's Iris newspaper, July 14, 1803, and repeated in his Wanderer of Switzerland, and other Poems, in 1806, and again in his Poetical Works in 1828 and 1841. Its origin is explained in its title, which reads:—

”Verses to the Memory of the late Joseph Browne, of Lothersdale, one of the People called Quakers, Who suffered a long Confinement in the Castle of York, and Loss of all his worldly Property, for Conscience Sake."

To adapt the poem for congregational use stanzas i.-iv., xiii., and xiv., were slightly altered, and given in Collyer's Collection, 1812. This form was repeated in J. Conder's Congregational Hymn Book, 1836; the Leeds Hymn Book, 1853, and others, as "Spirit, leave thy house of clay."

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 61 of 61)

A Collection of Choral Hymns for the ... Hanson Place Methodist Episcopal Congregation #d164

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A Collection of Hymns #229

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A Collection of Hymns for the use of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in America #1101

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A Collection of Hymns, for the Christian Church and Home #355

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A Collection of Hymns #435

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A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the Sanctuary #555

Chapel Hymns #d499

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Christian Hymns for Public and Private Worship #573

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Church Harmonies #658

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Church Poetry #185

Compilation of Hymns for the Use of the Churches of the Christian Union #d641

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Evangelical Hymns #412

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Hymn Book of the Methodist Protestant Church #648

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Hymn Book of the Methodist Protestant Church. (11th ed.) #648

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Hymnal of the Methodist Episcopal Church #1000

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Hymnal of the Methodist Episcopal Church #1000

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Hymns and Songs of Praise for Public and Social Worship #1318

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Hymns for Church and Home #220

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Hymns for the use of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, by the Authority of the Ministerium of Pennsylvania #602

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Hymns for the Use of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. ed. #1101

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Hymns, Selected and Original, for Public and Private Worship #716

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Hymns, Selected and Original #716

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Hymns #716

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Hymns #716

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Hymns #716

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Hymns #716

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New Hymn and Tune book #341e

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New Hymn and Tune Book #341e

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Plymouth Collection #a1153

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Plymouth Collection of Hymns and Tunes; for the use of Christian Congregations #1153

Prayers and Hymns for the Church and the Home #d596

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Psalms and Hymns, for Christian Use and Worship #H476

Revival Hymns ... with a Supplement. 2nd ed. #d260

Songs in the Night; or Hymns for the Sick and Suffering. 2nd ed. #d157

The American Hymn and Tune Book #d712

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The Baptist Hymn and Tune Book #1153

The Book of Praise #d320

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The Clifton Chapel Collection of "Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs" #1430

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The Gospel Psalmist #684

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The Great Redemption #315

The Halifax Selection of Hymns #d371

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The Heart and Voice #316b

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The Psalmist #1083

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The Psalmist #1083

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The Psalmody #1101

The Sacred Lyre #d257

The Saints' Harp #d775

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The Springfield Collection of Hymns for Sacred Worship #460

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The Tribute of Praise and Methodist Protestant Hymn Book #469

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The Tribute of Praise #469

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The Tribute of Praise #469

The Victory #d342

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The Virginia Selection of Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs #506

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The Voice of Praise #918

Universalist Hymn Book #d476

Virginia Selection of Psalms #d391

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