In his 1907 dictionary on hymnody, John Julian lists
the hymns by Robert Lowry "which have attained the
widest circulation." How things have changed since
1907! Not only does Julian fail to list "All the Way My
Savior Leads Me" and "We're Marching to Zion!" (to be
fair, he may have been listing merely hymns which Lowry
wrote the words to), but some of the hymns he does list
have lapsed into total obscurity! Take "Beautiful Land
of Rest" for instance. In 36 hymnals in its day, it
hasn't made it ...(+)
In his 1907 dictionary on hymnody, John Julian lists
the hymns by Robert Lowry "which have attained the
widest circulation." How things have changed since
1907! Not only does Julian fail to list "All the Way My
Savior Leads Me" and "We're Marching to Zion!" (to be
fair, he may have been listing merely hymns which Lowry
wrote the words to), but some of the hymns he does list
have lapsed into total obscurity! Take "Beautiful Land
of Rest" for instance. In 36 hymnals in its day, it
hasn't made it into a hymnal since before the Great
Depression! Which is too bad, because it is a really
beautiful tune. Lowry did a great job as always with
the piece, and it deserves to be heard once again. I
hope it is a blessing to your congregation!
1. Jerusalem, forever bright—
Beautiful land of rest,
No winter there, no chill of night—
Beautiful land of rest!
The dripping cloud is chased away,
The sun breaks forth in endless day—
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
The beautiful land of rest.
2. Jerusalem, forever free—
Beautiful land of rest!
The soul’s sweet home of liberty—
Beautiful land of rest!
The gyves of sin, the chains of woe,
The ransomed there will never know,
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
The beautiful land of rest.
3. Jerusalem, forever dear—
Beautiful land of rest!
Thy pearly gates almost appear—
Beautiful land of rest!
And when we tread thy lovely shore,
We’ll sing the song we’ve sung before—
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
The beautiful land of rest.
Chorus: Beautiful land, beautiful land,
Beautiful land of rest;
Beautiful land, beautiful land,
Beautiful land of rest.
