The one thing needful be our choice

The one thing needful be our choice

Author: James Montgomery
Published in 1 hymnal

Representative Text

The one thing needful be our choice,
To sit at our Redeemer's feet;
And meekly hearken to His voice,
That still small voice divinely sweet.

Divinely sweet, and yet of power
To quell the tempest, calm the waves,
And even in His expiring hour
To rend the rocks, unclose the graves.

"Come unto me, all ye that mourn,
Weary, hard laden, sore opprest;
Your griefs and sorrows I have borne,
O come, and I will give you rest!"

For us heaven's glory He forsook;
To seek and save the lost he came;
Himself our feeble nature took,
Endured the cross, despised the shame,

And shall we not for Him forsake
Earth's toys, sin's bondage, Satan's snare,
His cross, an easy yoke, to take,
His shame, a burthen light, to bear?

148
Ah! then be ours that better part,
Which Mary chose, His words to hear,
And bide as treasures in our heart,
Dearer than life itself is dear.

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: The one thing needful be our choice
Author: James Montgomery
Meter: 8.8.8.8
Language: English

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Text

Sacred Poems and Hymns #144

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