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