DOUBLY GIFTED

This is a 1941 "camper's hymnal" I kept after my
parents' deaths--a precious reminder of family faith.

A monthly series on a hymn of the faith. July's hymn blog (July 15) featured "I Need Thee Every Hour." This month, it's the man who composed that hymn's tune, and who was himself a prolific writer of hymn lyrics and tunes.

A classic, memorable hymn needs two elements: great words and a great tune. Usually that's the result of two: a poet and a musician. But sometimes, that's one person, as was true of Robert Lowry of the 19^th century.

Born in 1826 in Pennsylvania, he dabbled in music from childhood, but as a young man studied for the ministry. He later served as a pastor of Baptist churches in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He also taught at a college, serving a time as its chancellor. Both a brilliant preacher and musician, he later was invited to work with Bigelow Publishing Company, a music publishing business which put out numerous popular hymnals.

This meshing of Biblical preacher, poet, and musician meant a continual flow of hymn ideas. He once remarked, “My brain is sort of a spinning machine, for there is music running through it all the time.” One example of that is his hymn “Shall We Gather at the River.” Though often sung at baptismal services, it is primarily a song about heaven. 

The hymn was birthed on one especially hot and humid summer day in New York in the summer of 1864. Besides the pressures from the ongoing Civil War, many were dying from an epidemic. As Dr. Lowry visited the sick and bereaved, many asked, “Pastor, we have parted at the river of death. Will we meet our loved ones again at the river of life?” Hundreds of times, he offered the assurance from Revelation 22:1, that their family circles would reunite at “the river of life that flows form the throne of God and of the Lamb.”

Late one sultry afternoon, coming home especially weary, he sat at his little organ to find some release in music. He thought of the many children and adults who had died. Suddenly, words and music came out, as if by divine inspiration:

Shall we gather at the river/Where bright angel feet have trod,

With its crystal tide forever/Flowing by the throne of God?

Yes, we'll gather at the river, The beautiful, the beautiful river;

Gather with the saints at the river/That flows by the throne of God.

The hymn was published the following year, 1865. By 1880, it had been published all over the world. That year he visited London for a huge convention of Sunday school workers. Introduced at the meeting as that hymn's author, he was given a great ovation.

Lowry didn't hoard his music gifts, using them to turn others' lyrics into hymns. Best known of those poets was Fannie Crosby, for whom he wrote the tune to “All the Way My Savior Leads Me.” He also wrote the tune to Annie Hawks' poem, “I Need Thee Every Hour.”

Of the dozens of hymns for which he wrote texts and music, in addition to “Shall We Gather at the River,” these remain better-known:

“Come, ye that love the Lord”

“I Need Thee Every Hour”

“My Life Flows on in Endless Song”

“What Can Wash Away My Sin”

“Low in the Grave He Lay” (“Christ Arose!”)

Dr. Lowry would die at age 73 at his home in Plainfield, New Jersey, even then known as one of history's great hymn writers. Did the lyrics to his famous song about heaven, “Shall We Gather at the River,” come to mind in his last hours? Someday, maybe, we'll know. 

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To sing along with "Shall We Gather at the River," here is a video of Buddy Greene of the Gaither Music Band:

Buddy Greene - Shall We Gather At the River (Live) - Bing video