Nothing But the Blood -- Robert Lowry

He knew something about the body and what made it alive, one might say. But, of exactly which body was he really thinking when he wrote something about that fluid that runs through all our veins, keeping the human body functioning? It wasn’t really the scientific perspective of blood cells (a red and white cell, and a platelet are pictured here) that Robert Lowry wanted to address when he thought about “Nothing But the Blood” in 1876. He was 50 years old, and for the previous two or three decades he’d been involved with church work in several places, so one can fathom that the body that concerned him most was those masses of people that filled the places of worship where he often spoke. And, the blood wasn’t his or anyone else’s in those buildings. It’s plain from what he wrote, that even if it wasn’t his or another churchgoer’s blood, this blood was no less necessary – in fact, vital – for his and others’ survival.

By the time Robert Lowry had written about blood and published this hymn in 1876, he’d likely spoken to many crowds to make his plea for hearers to use this blood of which he spoke. He was an ordained minister, after all, and had helped guide numerous churches in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania in the Christian faith. So, one can hear Robert sermonizing very naturally about Jesus and the blood He offered to cleanse those who would accept this Divine gift. Virtually every Sunday sermon he offered might have contained such a reference – probably hundreds, if not thousands of times, then. Perhaps it was after one or many of a series of such sermons that spurred him to write the simple six-verse message in “Nothing But the Blood”. He must have from time to time encountered seekers who thought they weren’t properly prepared to respond to God’s call. Or, maybe there were others who thought they needed to do more than just accept His grace, or that they’d done too much wrong to ever be clean. ‘Torment and punishment is my destiny’, Pastor Robert might have heard someone utter in despair. It was Robert’s charge to let them know that this blood was all they needed. He said it repeatedly to drive home the point, in fact twice in each of his six verses, and once again in the refrain. We know not the particular circumstances of Robert’s inspiration for “Nothing But the Blood”, but his vocation makes the hymn’s development no real mystery. We could even speculate what words, more or less, Robert might have said from the pulpit before asking them to sing this hymn and respond. We still hear it today, don’t we?

Ever given your own blood, perhaps at a Red Cross event? Personally, I cannot watch even the pin-prick of my finger as the nurse checks to see if I have plenty of iron in my bodily fluid to safely surrender some. And, at some like the one I attended seven days ago, the staff has a movie playing to give the donators something upon which to focus – probably so they don’t sweat the needles in the arms and the red flowing out! I am willing to give, but I don’t wanna look, you know? Robert wants me to look, and notice the blood that He gave, and that I receive. It’s more than a casual glance. Don’t be squeamish, Robert says. This blood has more than just red and white cells and platelets. Try on Robert’s song and see what else this blood brings.   

     

See more information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; and Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990.

Also see the composer’s brief biography here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/l/o/w/r/lowry_r.htm

…and here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Lowry_(hymn_writer)

Also see this link, showing all six original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/n/b/t/nbtblood.htm

The Sands of Time -- Anne Ross Cundell Cousin

She must have thought her ancestor deserved plenty of credit for the life of opposition he faced with courage until the day he died. He was Samuel Rutherford, a 17^th Century Scottish Nonconformist (persecuted by the government for not following the practices of the Church of England), and she was Anne Cousin, a fellow Scot who two centuries later paraphrased Rutherford’s life and well-known message in “The Sands of Time”. Anne wrote a poem of 19 verses, one of the longest tributes to a life that looked forward to an eternal inheritance, undiminished by the harassment and earthly punishment Samuel had endured as a result of his spiritual convictions. Perhaps she thought the 152 lines she penned mirrored symbolically Rutherford’s long struggle. (See painting here of an ancient figure holding an hourglass, and observing the sand slowly marking the passage of time.) Yet, the close of each verse emphasizes not the clash that Samuel must have felt characterized his relationship with Scotland and greater Britain, but the higher duty he owed to his first King and the coming reward that engulfed his being. 

Could it be that 33-year-old Anne Cousin was struck by the contrast in her life compared to Samuel Rutherford’s, as she sat reading about his 61 years on earth, including time in banishment or imprisonment? It’s said that in 1857 Anne was, in contrast to Samuel, freely sitting in her own home  where she was sewing and reading about Rutherford’s life story.  Anne was the wife of a minister, and so was accustomed to crafting poetry adapted to music (a handful of hymn poems are attributed to her). Rutherford’s example was a magnet for this woman’s attention, particularly the many stirring words he uttered as a minister to admonish, motivate, and teach his hearers. Anne was especially stirred by the story of Rutherford’s reported last words as he looked heavenward and declared that ‘…glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land!’ Those words summed up Samuel’s lifelong objective, which she used to consummate most of her poem’s verses. The fire in Rutherford could not be stilled in the 1600s, even when he was banished to Aberdeen for his Nonconformist views in the 1630-38 period. It was during that time that he wrote while a virtual prisoner, officially barred from church work; his letters and other writings to fellow believers at the time became his defining works. In 1638, church peace commenced in Scotland, permitting Rutherford to resume his life without state persecution. But, near the end of his life over 20 years later, Samuel was once again officially condemned concurrent with the ascension of Charles II to the British throne. Facing almost certain execution, Rutherford did not shrink from his position, exclaiming the words that would compel Anne Cousin’s poetry two centuries later. Samuel was not unlike his ancient predecessor Stephen (Acts 7:56), who visualized heaven’s majesty as death clutched his throat.

 

Anne Cousin echoed in the first few words of “The Sands of Time” what Stephen and Samuel said with their last words on earth. Sand trickles through the hourglass, and ‘the dawn of heaven breaks’ (v.1 of Anne’s poem). Meet it with courage, she said, remembering what Samuel called out with a zeal that probably grew in fervor as the culmination of his betrothal to Christ was in sight. Immanuel -- God with us -- came here, and we who have not yet been there follow Him to his home. That truth animates the believer’s life. Additionally, what name do we inherit when we go to be with Him? To be honest, I’ve never pondered that detail. Have you? God received His poetic name, first mentioned by Isaiah, perhaps as He prepared to visit us, centuries in advance of his human birth. Anne’s poem (her original verse 14) suggests a name (perhaps, in fact Samuel Rutherford’s) that was ‘banned’ on earth would be ‘graven on a white stone’ up above (a reference to Revelation 2:17?). Knowing my name is written there (Revelation 17 and 20) means something…I’m supposed to go there. When I feel dejected here, I just need to keep seeing my name on that white stone, like Stephen, and Samuel, and Anne did.        

See more information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990; 101 Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1985; and A Treasury of Hymn Stories, by Amos R. Wells, Baker Book House, 1945. 

See this site for all 19! of the original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/s/a/n/sandtime.htm

See a few brief details of the composer’s life here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/c/o/u/cousin_arc.htm

See here a biography of the originator of some of the key words in the song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Rutherford

Paradise Valley -- Noah White

He was known by the musical composer who added the notes, but there’s not any more known about a poet named Noah White than that one fact. Noah’s poetry was so compelling in “Paradise Valley” that one can imagine Virgil Stamps was pretty eager to add the music and make a memorable keepsake for themselves and future generations. Perhaps its most striking feature is the imagery the poem paints. (Maybe you might get a mental image something like this 1620 creation by Jan Bruegel, shown here.) Did that spur Stamps’ musical imagination, as he paired notes with the words that Noah provided? The paradise that was on Noah’s mind had beautiful, growing, and fragrant details that quickened his pace. Virgil Stamps has us practically skipping with exuberance in the accompanying music. See if you don’t feel upbeat and eager to find this place that Noah and Virgil describe!

Since no details of Noah White are known, we can surmise that “Paradise Valley” may have been one of a very few works – perhaps the only one – attributed to him. Published with words and music in 1935, Noah White’s and Virgil Stamps’ creation is a winner, perhaps the only one on which they collaborated. The association of what might otherwise have been a forgotten poem by Noah White with Virgil Stamps’ music was fortuitous, making its preservation more likely. Stamps had formed a music company in the 1920s and was soon joined by J.R. Baxter, Jr., creating one of the most well-known and successful hymn-publishing enterprises. Stamps-Baxter was well-established by the mid-1930s, when the author of “Paradise Valley” and Virgil Stamps must have decided to team up and conceive this buoyant picture of eternity. Noah wanted to ‘give cheer’ (v.1) to those who were downbeat about life, and he spends the following two verses describing what most of us probably think of when we imagine paradise – a garden, perhaps not unlike the original Eden. Beautiful fruit trees, flowers, a bubbling brook, all signs of life in a most bucolic and satisfying place that God wants us to inherit. It may sound restful, but Noah and Virgil were anything but content with a leisurely pace in their paradise. They want to bounce toward their destination, perhaps doing cartwheels! Get the picture?

Perhaps Noah and Virgil were reading the front and back ends of their bibles (Genesis and Revelation), where trees, rivers, and fruit are present to remind us of Him who creates. Is being in His presence, even if it’s in a place designed for eternal rest, made just for relaxation? It seems that the creative pair of White and Stamps looked at each other and answered ‘No!’ After all, it’s a ‘river of life’ in the paradise valley that these two thought provided nourishment for its inhabitants; this river and the valley through which it runs don’t put them to sleep, but rather stimulate their senses. Try singing what Noah and Virgil thought about paradise and see if you feel the same.   

See here for biography of the musical composer: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/s/t/a/stamps_vo.htm

See information here regarding the music company of the composer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamps-Baxter_Music_Company