Scripture Verse

You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. Mark 16:6

Introduction

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Robert Lowry (1826–1899)

Words & Mu­sic: Ro­bert Low­ry, 1874. Pub­lished in Bright­est and Best, by Ro­bert Low­ry & W. How­ard Doane (New York: Big­low & Main, 1875) (🔊 pdf nwc, male voic­es).

Lyrics

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Lamentation over the Dead Christ
Andrea Mantegna, 1490

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!

Vainly they watch His bed, Je­sus my Sav­ior;
Vainly they seal the dead, Je­sus my Lord!

Refrain

Death can­not keep its prey, Je­sus my Sav­ior;
He tore the bars away, Je­sus my Lord!

Refrain

Poem

The Empty Cross

The eve of Gol­go­tha had come,
And Christ lay shroud­ed in the gar­den tomb,
Among the olives, oh, how dumb,
How sad the sun incarnadined the gloom!

The hill grew dim—the plead­ing cross
Reached empty arms toward the clos­ing gate.
Jerusalem, oh, count thy loss!
Oh, hear ye! hear ye! ere it be too late!

Reached bleeding arms—but how in vain!
The murmurous multitude with­in the wall
Already had forgot His pain—
Tomorrow would forget the cross—and all!

They knew not Rome, be­fore its sign,
Bending her brow bound with the na­tion’s threne,
Would sweep all lands from Nile to Rhine
In servitude unto the Na­za­rene.

Nor knew that mil­lions would for­sake
Ancestral shrines great with the glow of time,
And lifting up its token shake
Æons with thrill of love or bat­tle’s crime.

With empty arms aloft it stood:
Ah, Scribe and Pharisee, ye build­ed well!
The cross emblotted with His blood
Mounts, highest hope of men, against earth’s hell!

Cale Young Rice
Plays and Lyrics, 1906