These were not the days of a free press. In 1794, Gales fled England to avoid political persecution. James Montgomery immediately took over the paper, renaming it The Sheffield Iris. In this role he was twice imprisoned for sedition; once in 1795 for publishing a poem celebrating the fall of the Bastille, and again the following year for criticizing a magistrate who forcibly broke up a protest in Sheffield.
His poems were often political in theme and epic in proportions, such as his The Wanderer of Switzerland (1806). This poem was criticized in the conservative Edinburgh Review, but subsequently defended by Lord Byron. Montgomery condemned the use of poor children as chimney sweeps in The Climbing Boys' Soliloquies, a theme William Blake had addressed in “The Chimney Sweeper.”
Montgomery also wrote many hymns, and suspected that these would be his best chance to be remembered. The following Christmas hymn remains popular, although not all of its fine stanzas are commonly sung.
Angels From The Realms Of Glory
Angels from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o’er all the earth;
Ye who sang creation’s story
Now proclaim Messiah’s birth.
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.
Shepherds, in the field abiding,
Watching o’er your flocks by night,
God with us is now residing;
Yonder shines the infant light:
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.
Sages, leave your contemplations,
Brighter visions beam afar;
Seek the great Desire of nations;
Ye have seen His natal star.
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.
Saints, before the altar bending,
Watching long in hope and fear;
Suddenly the Lord, descending,
In His temple shall appear.
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.
Sinners, wrung with true repentance,
Doomed for guilt to endless pains,
Justice now revokes the sentence,
Mercy calls you; break your chains.
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.
Though an Infant now we view Him,
He shall fill His Father’s throne,
Gather all the nations to Him;
Every knee shall then bow down:
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.
All creation, join in praising
God, the Father, Spirit, Son,
Evermore your voices raising
To the eternal Three in One.
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.
Entry written by D.S. Martin. His latest poetry collection is Ampersand (2018, Cascade). His books are available through Amazon, and Wipf & Stock, including the anthologies The Turning Aside, and Adam, Eve, & the Riders of the Apocalypse.
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