443 Come, We That Love the Lord
Isaac Watts, 1674-1748
This hymn, entitled by Watts, “Heavenly Joy on Earth,” appeared in his Hymns and Sacred Songs, 1707.
For comments on Isaac Watts, see Hymn 11.
MUSIC. The tune is by Robert Lowry, 1826-99, a Baptist minister who held a pastorate in Brooklyn, N. Y., and did much to promote the gospel song movement. He edited a series of eight books for Bigelow and Main, with such titles as Bright Jewels and Pure Gold, to which he added a large number of tunes of his own composition. The public bought these books by the hundreds of thousands. Lowry had no serious training in music and did not take up composition until middle life. He was concerned mostly with the production of music which was popularly effective.
Watts’ hymn appears in many hymn books with the more dignified tune, “St. Thomas,” by Williams (No. 269).