Pour out thy Spirit from on high

Pour out thy Spirit from on high. James Montgomery* (1771-1854). Written on 23 January 1833 for the Revd J. Birchell, rector of Newbury, Berkshire, as a hymn to be sung at meetings of clergy or at ordination services. It was published in Birchell’s Selection of Hymns (1833) and in Edward Bickersteth*’s Christian Psalmody (1833) in five 4-line verses. It was included in Montgomery’s Original Hymns (1853). The hymn has often been altered, most notably by the compilers of the First Edition of A&M, who changed the first line to ‘Lord, pour thy Spirit from on high’, thus losing the reference to Joel 2:28. This alternative first line, also found in BBCHB, continued in successive editions of...