We Bid Thee Welcome in the Name

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 >

We bid Thee welcome in the Name. J. Montgomery. [Induction of a Minister.] This hymn is in the M. MSS., but is undated. It was published in Montgomery's Christian Psalmist, 1825, No. 535, and again in his Original Hymns, 1853, No. 305, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, and headed, "On the Appointment of a Minister." It is found in many collections, but usually in an abbreviated form.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)