Shall We Gather At The River?

Shall We Gather At The River?

Have you ever sung a hymn knowing exactly what it’s all about, only to find out that it’s not about what you thought at all? That happened to me when I used to sing that great baptism hymn, “Shall We Gather At The River?”

I’ve heard it sung in movies, in churches, on the radio and in concerts and it has always clearly been about baptism, right? Well, not so fast.

The song was written by Robert Lowry, Lowry was a superstar in his day. He was a gift preacher, a college professor, an editor, a writer of hymns and a music composer. He contributed to some of the greatest hymns ever written (“I Need Thee Every Hour”, “Marching To Zion”, “All The Way My Savior Leads Me”) and wrote “Christ Arose” and “Nothing But The Blood”. All told, he wrote over 500 hymns.

It was in 1864 that a sweltering heat wave covered the eastern seaboard where he lived. He retreated to the indoors and lay on his couch and began imagining the cool waters of the River of Life that flows from the throne of God.

Visions of the throne, the river and the gathering if the saints began to form in his mind. Then, it struck him, why are there so few songs about the River of Life?

The questions began to come. “Shall we gather?” Was followed by the response, “Yes, we’ll gather!” The hymn was born and it became Lowry’s greatest work.

It’s about eternity, life, Heaven, the throne room of God and all great things. But, I now know, it’s not about baptism at all. Here are the lyrics to “Shall We Gather At The River?”

Shall we gather at the river,

Where bright angel feet have trod;
With its crystal tide forever
Flowing by the throne of God?

Refrain:
Yes, we'll gather at the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river
That flows by the throne of God.

You can listen to this hymn here: https://youtu.be/v1qnjd23YQM