C.H. Spurgeon's Morning Devotional
Tuesday July 15, 2025

"The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out."-Leviticus 6:13
    
    Keep the altar of private prayer burning. This is the very life of all piety. The sanctuary and family altars borrow their fires here, therefore let this burn well. Secret devotion is the very essence, evidence, and barometer, of vital and experimental religion.
    
    Burn here the fat of your sacrifices. Let your closet seasons be, if possible, regular, frequent, and undisturbed. Effectual prayer availeth much. Have you nothing to pray for? Let us suggest the Church, the ministry, your own soul, your children, your relations, your neighbours, your country, and the cause of God and truth throughout the world. Let us examine ourselves on this important matter. Do we engage with lukewarmness in private devotion? Is the fire of devotion burning dimly in our hearts? Do the chariot wheels drag heavily? If so, let us be alarmed at this sign of decay. Let us go with weeping, and ask for the Spirit of grace and of supplications. Let us set apart special seasons for extraordinary prayer. For if this fire should be smothered beneath the ashes of a worldly conformity, it will dim the fire on the family altar, and lessen our influence both in the Church and in the world.
    
    The text will also apply to the altar of the heart. This is a golden altar indeed. God loves to see the hearts of His people glowing towards Himself. Let us give to God our hearts, all blazing with love, and seek His grace, that the fire may never be quenched; for it will not burn if the Lord does not keep it burning. Many foes will attempt to extinguish it; but if the unseen hand behind the wall pour thereon the sacred oil, it will blaze higher and higher. Let us use texts of Scripture as fuel for our heart's fire, they are live coals; let us attend sermons, but above all, let us be much alone with Jesus.
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Saturday, December 4, 2010

Angels from the Realms of Glory




HYMN HISTORY:

James Montgomery - Lyrics
1771-1854
Born: November 4, 1771, Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Died: April 30, 1854, Mount, Sheffield, England.
Buried: Sheffield, England. In his memory, a statue was erected in the Sheffield cemetery, a stained glass window was in­stalled in the parish church, and a public hall was named after him.



When one recalls important contributors to the development of English hymnody, the names of Isaac Watts, generally titled the father of English hymnody, and Charles Wesley, provider of approximately 6,500 hymn texts, are usually acclaimed the most important. Next to these two spiritual leaders, however, it is commonly agreed by students of hymnology that no writer has made a greater contribution to English hymnody than has James Montgomery. A foremost authority in hymnology, John Julian, has written.

Montgomery’s devotional spirit was of the noblest type. With the faith of a strong man he united the beauty and simplicity of a child. Richly poetic without exuberance, dogmatic without uncharitableness, tender without sentimentality, elaborate without diffusiveness, richly musical without effort, he has bequeathed to the church wealth which could only come from true genius and a sanctified heart.

James Montgomery’s parents were Moravian missionaries to the West Indies. While attending a Moravian seminary in England, young James received word of the sudden death of both of his parents on the mission field. James left the seminary suddenly and, for a period, lived a life of aimless discouragement. Soon he became interested in newspaper work and writing. Ate the age of twenty-three he was appointed editor of the weekly Sheffield Register in London, maintaining this position for the next thirty-one years. In 1825 he gave up his paper to devote himself solely to literary and philanthropic pursuits, including the promotion of foreign missions, a cause always dear to his heart. By 1833 his integrity and worth were widely recognized throughout government as a reward for his many contributions to English society.

“Angels, From the Realms of Glory” first appeared as a poem in Montgomery's newspaper on December 24 1816. Later it was published in a hymnal entitled Montgomery’s Original Hymns and was known as have acclaimed this as one of the finest Advent hymns.

Henry Thomas Smart - Composer
1813-1879
Born: October 26, 1813, London, England.
Died: July 6, 1879, London, England.
Buried: Hampstead Cemetery, London.

The composer of this tune, know as “Regent Square,” was Henry Smart, born on October 26,1813, in London, England. Although largely self-taught, Smart was recognized as one of the finest organist and composers in the British Isles in his day. He was totally blind for the last fifteen years of his life, yet he continued to play and write some of his finest music. “Regent Square” was written during this period of blindness. The tune was composed especially for a hymnal being compiled by Dr. Hamilton, pastor of London’s Regent Square Presbyterian Church, known as the “Cathedral of Presbyterianism” in London.

~101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck

BIBLE REFERENCE:

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1:23

And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. Exodus 19:16

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. Isaiah 11:1-4

Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1:78-79

And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. Isaiah 22:22


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 th’eternal Three in One.
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

taken from Bible Study charts

There is also a wonderful devotional on this Christmas Song in the book:
Then Sings my Soul (special edition) by Robert J. Morgan
click here for more information on this book and my review

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