Up from the Grave He Arose (Low in the Grave He Lay)

Text: Robert Lowry, 1826-1899

Music: Robert Lowry, 1826-1899

Tune: CHRIST AROSE, Meter: 65.64 with Refrain

1. Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior,
waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Refrain:

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!

2. Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior,
vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!

(Refrain)

3. Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior;
he tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!
(Refrain)

No, this is not a picture of a place anywhere close to where Jesus would have been buried. It's from a collection of pictures my husband took on a trip to Ireland. He and I went as a celebration of turning 50 together. Ireland is the one spot on earth I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted to see. (Yes, I just broke the English teacher's rule of using "really" in a sentence not just once, but 3 times. But you do understand now how much I wanted to visit Ireland!)

I wanted a picture to go with the hymn. It's my favorite Easter hymn. If you go on www.hymnsite.com, you can hear it played on an organ, and you can sing all by yourself. That's what I was doing at 1AM. My Methodist hymnal is in "my house" on the other side of the state.

[I'm at "our home" in Cincinnati. It was "Mike's house," but then it became our home. The house in Barnesville is a temporary "holding spot" for me as I had to go up ahead of him due to a job opening. That was 6 years ago. I'm here this weekend sorting through misc stuff, throwing some of it away, putting some in boxes for Good Will, some for Half-Price Bookstore, and some to actually take to B'ville as I call my smalltown USA. My husband is finally joining me in our hometown this August, and he wants some "stuff" cleared out so he can paint, etc. to get the house ready to sell.]

Anyhow, I wanted this song, "Up From the Grave He Arose." I couldn't remember the title, just that phrase. So I did an Internet search and found it as I've already said. My father loved this song and he would always raise up his right arm and hand at the chorus. He was raising it toward heaven and motioning to us to give the chorus "our all." We always did. Oh he looked glorious in his white robe with the special purple stole on. Prematurely white, 6ft. 3in., and handsome, his was a commanding presence, all the more so because of his love for Christ our Savior.

Easter was his favorite holiday and it was the hardest for me to handle after the divorce and the one that's still hard for me to attend church on. So I sang to God in the early morning hours and teared up some. Yet, while I was sitting there missing my dad, I was also giving thanks for such an example of Christ's unconditional love. I was truly blessed to have my dad as my dad. Friends and others have told me so over the years and some even envied me for having him, but I didn't have to be told. I KNEW.

So as I praise God today for giving us His Son to die for our sins, and then rise from the dead " . . . a victor o'er the dark domain . . ." I also praise God for a dad that taught me all about God and His Son. (For those who don't know me, I had a wonderful mother who believed before dad did and prayed for his salvation, and then became a minister's wife with all the responsibilities that the position demanded for her generation. She was 4ft.11in and the power behind the man as my dad always claimed. Her faith definitely influenced us, but Dad was "larger than life" and he is the one who stood in the pulpit as we grew up and now in our memories. )

With that, I will go back to packing. (I can't get the paragraphs to indent or to get space between the paragraphs. Once again, I must have hit something. So forgive the running together of this post. )

Happy glorious Easter folks!