When I’m planning an Easter service, I have three pieces that instantly come to mind: Christ the Lord is Risen Today, Up from the Grave He Arose, and Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed (because I remain a fan of the music of Keith & Kristyn Getty). The latter of the three I incorporate as an introit every Easter service and has become an annual tradition I look forward to by singing the good news of the resurrection of our Savior (contained so richly - even in the title). That means that – almost without fail – every year I am selecting one of the two other options above (not that there would be anything wrong with using both, I just happen to enjoy picking pieces that don’t all sound the same so each piece can bring a different genre or musical texture to the table as we glorify God in the hymns of our corporate worship service - but I can save that for another entry). This year, we are singing Up from the Grave He Arose, and I am genuinely excited.
First off, to get the humor out of the way, I will forever think of this as the ‘gravy hymn’. Explanation: my mother raised us on the story of her pondering as a child why they kept singing about Christ being in the gravy. Thankfully, the lyrics to the first verse of this hymn are NOT, ‘Low in the gravy lay’, but rather, ‘Low in the grave He lay’. If this doesn’t help bring into clarity how I came to possess the strange sense of humor that I have, I fear nothing will. You’re welcome.
Written by Robert Lowry, a popular Baptist preacher from Pennsylvania in the mid-to-late 1800s, it was brought into the international attention during the revivals of Ira Sankey and Dwight L. Moody. While Lowry was a popular preacher in his day, he did become very well known for his ‘gospel songs’, among which contain pieces we have all heard who grew up in the church, Nothing but the Blood and Shall We Gather at the River. Lowry was known as a preacher who possessed incredible ability to paint word pictures. Kenneth Osbeck writes, ‘Music and a knowledge of hymnology were his favorite studies, but always as an avocation.’ Originally titled Christ Arose, he was said to have composed this hymn in 1874 while sitting at the little pump organ in his parlor, reflecting upon the angels words to the women gathered at the tomb in the gospel of Luke, 24:6-8.
‘And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words.’ (Luke 24:6-8)
Let’s consider briefly how the tune is constructed. If you want to sell me on a piece of music, show me clear text-painting. This is a term referring to a method of composition that was used heavily in the madrigals of the Renaissance period, but truly reached its zenith in the Baroque music of Handel and others of his day. The basic premise is that the music should complement the text. When the text spoke of heaven - the notes went up, when it spoke of hell - the notes went down, when it spoke of rushing water - the notes were full of movement, and so on. There are countless examples of this contained any of Handel’s oratorios (though again he was far from the first or sole user of this method). Good composers, even if adjusting the tunes to the times, seek to recreate some semblance of this method, and Lowry does this masterfully even on a simple gospel song.
The verses are purposefully dirge-like, with the chorus springing forth as a triumphant trumpet blast. ‘Up from the grave He arose’ covers an entire octave via arpeggio, and the result is nothing short of thrilling. The final cries of the refrain, ‘He arose! He arose!’ reach higher and higher in pitch as unto heaven, showing that there is no end to the magnitude of this victory, and forcing a congregation to sing out (and what better text for a congregation to sing out on!).
Even the text of the verses serves to lay the groundwork as to why the grandeur of the coming refrain matters. Like examining a priceless diamond, each verse tells the same story from different angles, always encased with drawing to focus ‘Jesus, my Savior / Jesus, my Lord’. Christ is the main character in this story; and, as should always be the case in the hymns we select, what matters more are singing truths about Him rather than singing of how I may feel about those truths (though there is definitely a place for those – especially as we ponder an application of said truths; thinking of hymns like the final verse of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, ‘love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all!’).
Low in the grave He lay … waiting the coming day (vs. 1)
The earthly circumstances of the tomb are brought into focus as this hymn picks up directly where Good Friday left off. And yet, the ‘coming day’ is about to burst forth.
Vainly they watch His bed … vainly they seal the dead (vs. 2)
Here is captured the frustration of the soldiers. The earthly powers that seek to hold Him down are no match for the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, our Mighty Savior.
Death cannot keep his prey … He [Jesus Christ] tore the bars away (vs. 3)
The stakes have been raised – beyond earthly circumstances, the powers of the world - Death itself is no match for this King. The imminent truth we all face of our mortality - our impending demise - is met with the might of the risen Son of God as He declares to His people that we need not be afraid of death. The work is finished, the price is paid, the tomb is empty, redemption and eternal life are His free gift, bought by His death on the cruelty of the cross and His resounding defeat of Death symbolized by the empty tomb. What reason have we as His chosen people to sing out in thanksgiving:
‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)
My two-year-old daughter has a small book on Easter with puppets as the artwork, and a simplified retelling of the resurrection story. As you can imagine - given her age - we’ve read this book many times, even from her infancy. A centerpiece in it are the constantly repeated lines, ‘Jesus was not dead - Jesus is alive!’ Over and over, the refrain drives home the point, simplified enough for a child to understand (even if only in part). As my daughter has grown older and her speech has developed more, she now joins in the refrain. The repetition allows her brain to tuck it away and repeat the phrase, ‘Jesus is alive!’ The joy it brings me to hear her say these words with me, growing in fervor and energy with each repetition, is one I pray I never forget. May we all approach the service Easter Sunday – as we should every Sunday – falling to our knees declaring ‘Hallelujah! What a Savior!’, because we serve not just any savior, but a RISEN Savior. May the cry of our hearts resound as the end of the chorus of our hymn,
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
JESUS IS ALIVE.