Hymn Story: Stand Up and Bless the Lord    

James Montgomery wrote the hymn “Stand Up and Bless the Lord.” The hymn was written for the anniverary celebration of the Red Hill Wes­ley­an Sun­day School in Shef­field, Eng­land.

Montgomery was born in 1771 Scotland.  His parenty died on the mission field of the West Indies while he was a young man in boarding school.

He inherited a strong religious bent and became mission minded. He opposed slavery and celebrated the fall of the Bastille.

Montgomery published 11 volumes of poetry and wrote at least 400 hymns. He died in 1854 in Yorkshire, England.

William Crotch (1775-1847) adapted the tune from the 1551 French Genevan Psalter, St. Michael, which was originally composed by Louis Bourgeois.