The brightest morning of the year

Author: James Montgomery
Published in 1 hymnal

Representative Text

The brightest morning of the year
Is that which brings the day,
When Sunday Schools assemble here,
Their joyful vows to pay.

The loveliest scene that eyes behold,
Is band succeeding band,
Till, fairly form'd with flags unroll'd,
The children's legions stand.

The sweetest harmony that floats,
Is, when, o'er hill and dale,
From yonder height, their mingling notes
With rapture swell the gale.

The purest bliss that life can know,
Devoid of fear and guile,
Is, when at once all bosoms glow,
All faces wear one smile.

Nor beautiful on earth alone
This spectacle of love,
Their angels round their Father's throne
Bend o'er it from above.

Great God! fulfill our hearts' desire!
Make every soul sincere,
That, in Thy sight, this youthful choir
May be what they appear.

Sacred Poems and Hymns

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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 >

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