It was the summer of 1864, and (no, I wasn’t there) the country was being torn apart by war and racial tension. It seemed like half of America was at the throats of the other half. Homes and families were divided over many issues.
The Reverend Lowry, who was frustrated while ministering in New York City because of confederate sympathizers, was meditating on:
Revelation 22:1:
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb
The pastor had an inspiration about a future time when everything was going to be OK and God’s people were going to be united in fellowship with Him. He sat down and produced this ageless hymn.
The chorus in that song goes like this:
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.
“Why can’t we all get along?” is a soul-searching question. The sin nature of man is the only answer to that. However, there is coming a day when even our sin nature will be removed and we can stand before the throne of God united.
Give it some thought.
Gary