Not here, as to the prophet's eye

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 >

Not here as to the prophet's eye. J. Montgomery. [Opening of a Place of Worship.] Written for the opening of the Methodist New Connexion Chapel, South Street, Moor, Sheffield, June 8, 1828, and printed as a flyleaf for the occasion, [M. MSS.] It was included in Conder's Congregational Hymn Book, 1836, No. 465, and in Montgomery's Original Hymns, 1853, No. 297, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines. It is in common use in Great Britain and America.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)