Low in the Grave He Lay (Christ Arose)
A classic Easter hymn, celebrating Christ’s resurrection with gusto! This great song was written by Robert Lowry, and its melody matches the wording in a clever way. Explore the story of this song with me today.
Welcome to Friday Classic Hymns. I'm doing two in a row this month, which is unusual these days - I only do one a month normally. I did a Good Friday hymn last week, "There Is a Green Hill Far Away", and today I thought I have to do an Easter hymn! I have to do a resurrection hymn!
Another Friday Classic for you - another one that I didn't know. "Low in the Grave He Lay" - I've never sung this in my life until I learned it today, and I think it's such a great song. We're going to have to do this at our church's sunrise service next year.
As always, I ask you to share your comments below, share your thoughts and your memories of the song. I'd love to know where you sang it, what memories you have of singing it, and if you still sing it today. Share this with someone who you think will enjoy the video, and subscribe if you haven't already. Let me tell you the history behind this great hymn.
The Story Behind "Low in the Grave He Lay"
Robert Lowry is behind this one. Born in Philadelphia on the 12th of March 1826, he had a great conversion in his teens and moved from the Presbyterian Church to the Baptist Church in Philadelphia, where he began working in the choir and as a Sunday school teacher. His pastor saw something special in him, and he was encouraged to study for the ministry, which he did and excelled - and was ordained as a Baptist minister in his late twenties.
He ministered at various churches in the States and was known as a great preacher, but became more known, actually, for his hymns - which I think would have upset him, because he was known to say that the sermon is a lot greater than a hymn, and yet it's his hymns that have endured.
Robert Lowry wrote "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus", "Shall We Gather at the River", the music for "I Need Thee Every Hour", and other great hymns which I've covered, by the way, in the series. When another great composer and musician, William Bradbury, died, it was Lowry who took over his job as editor of the big publishing company's hymnals. It was in one of these hymnals, in 1874, that this song was first published under the title "He Is Not Here but Risen" - a reference to Luke 24:5. It was published in an Easter hymnal, and then the next year published in a bigger hymnal for Sunday school.
According to Kenneth Osbeck, who writes great books on hymn history, Lowry was just sitting at his organ one day reading Luke 24 when the song just came out - as if it was inspired by the Spirit in that moment.
The tune that Lowry wrote is a big part of the song's popularity. The verses about Jesus in the grave are very sort of downcast, with not much movement between the notes - which is the hymn painting a picture with those notes. Then in the chorus there's much more movement in the notes and it goes up, up, up, up, up, which symbolises Christ rising from the grave. There's a kind of joyful, skipping feel to it. Lowry died in his seventies and is still known today for those few great hymns that he wrote. Let me take you through the words of this one to see why it is so special.
What Do the Lyrics of "Low in the Grave He Lay" Mean?
Verse 1
Low in the grave He lay,
Jesus my Saviour,
Waiting the coming day,
Jesus my Lord.
Now, I somehow knew the title of the song, and I always thought it was "Lo!" with an exclamation mark - as if he was saying, "Behold, Jesus is lying in the grave!" Have you always known it the other way? Was it always "Low in the grave" - as in He truly is dead?
Other faiths - Muslims, for instance - try to claim that He didn't actually die, which is not true. He did die, and He lay deep in that grave. But He was waiting the coming day, and I love how Lowry says that He was waiting - as if He knew what was coming.
"Jesus my Saviour, Jesus my Lord" - two great titles for Jesus, by the way. Saviour: the One who effects salvation in your life. Lord: your personal master. It's got to be both, hasn't it, for faith to be real? There's something special about singing both of those titles.
Verse 2
Vainly they watched His bed,
Jesus my Saviour,
Vainly they sealed the dead,
Jesus my Lord.
The guards were told to watch the place where He lay and to seal up the tomb, but none of that worked because He still came out. It didn't matter what they did - it was all in vain. They had no chance.
Verse 3
Death cannot keep its prey,
Jesus my Saviour;
He tore the bars away,
Jesus my Lord.
Death thought that he had won, that he had this carcass in his grip - and next thing he knew, this carcass had come back to life and was tearing away the prison bars.
I like this imagery, because it paints a picture for me of salvation. In Romans 6, Paul talks about how our baptism is a picture of what Jesus did and of our salvation - because when we are in Him, our old lives get buried as He was buried. That's what baptism is: you go down into the water as your old life dies, and then you come up again as a picture of your new life beginning. That is salvation. When you come up, it's like the bars of your prison are thrown open.
What Jesus did for us when He rose was to enable us to be fully saved - not just forgiven, but conquering and victorious over sin. The bars of our prisons are ripped open, and we no longer live with the guilt or the shame or the power of sin in our lives. That's the good news of Easter1
Chorus
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
He was low down, but He came up from the grave. Look at all this victory language - "triumph o'er His foes", "a victor from the dark domain". Jesus broke the power of evil when He conquered death and sin. He lives forever, never to die again, with His saints to reign. We, the people who believe, reign with Him - not lording it over people, but offering them a kingdom where they can find life.
"He arose! He arose!" - I love the repetition. It's just building the joy. Hallelujah! Christ arose! That's just a great declaration of the good news of Easter. What a great song.
Conclusion
I had a lot of fun just learning it and exploring this great Easter message. Share your thoughts below as always, and thank you for supporting me on Patreon! My Patreon supporters get downloads of all my music, including all these Friday Classic Hymns and the piano part.
It really goes a long way to supporting my family. Thank you very much. Come, let's sing it together and declare the glory of the risen Christ!
References
Chris Fenner, Hymnology Archive - "Low in the Grave He Lay" (2020)
Julian, J. R. Watson & C. Young, Hymnology (Hymns Ancient & Modern) - "Low in the Grave He Lay"
Bert Polman, Psalter Hymnal Handbook (Grand Rapids: CRC, 1988)
J. H. Hall, Biographies of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1914)
