According to
Thy Gracious Word

According to Thy gracious word,
In meek humility,
This will I do, my dying Lord,
I will remember Thee.

Thy body, given for my sake,
My bread from heaven shall be;
Thy testamental cup I take,
And thus remember Thee.

Gethsemane can I forget?
Or there Thy conflict see,
Thine agony and deep distress,
And not remember Thee?

When to the cross I turn mine eyes,
And rest on Calvary,
O Lamb of God, my Sacrifice,
I must remember Thee.

Remember Thee and all Thy pains,
And all Thy love to me;
Yea, while a breath, a pulse remains,
I will remember Thee.

Then of Thy grace I'll know the sum,
And in Thy likeness be,
When Thou hast in Thy kingdom come
And dost remember me.

Alternative final verse
And when these failing lips grow dumb,
And mind and memory flee,
When thou shalt in thy kingdom come,
Then, Lord, remember me.

The words 'I will remember thee' are at the heart of this hymn so much so that its writer, James Montgomery, is reckoned to have underlined them. It was first published in 1825 in The Christian Psalmist and was one of 400 he wrote. It does not appear in all hymn books in 6 verses and where it does the alternative final verse appears more common especially in the older hymnals.

Montgomery was born in Irvine, Scotland in 1771 the son of a Moravian minister before moving to Gracehill in county Antrim in 1776. As an adult he spent most of his life based in Sheffield where is spent over 30 years editing the Sheffield Iris. There is a statue of him in Sheffield where he died in 1854.

These are the scriptures which are thought to have inspired the writer;

Luke 22:19 He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

1 Corinthians 11:24‑25 When he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

Matthew 26:36‑39 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Luke 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Luke 23:33 When they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him.

Isaiah 53:6‑7 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

1 Pet.5:5 (RSV) "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Luke 23:42 He said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

Romans 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.

Matthew 6:10 (RSV) Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.