Up From the Grave He Arose is the chorus of the Easter hymn Christ Arose, also known by its first line, Low in the Grave He Lay. Robert Lowry, a Baptist pastor, wrote the words and music in 1874, and it was first printed in 1875. Each slow, quiet verse pictures Jesus in the tomb, and then the chorus bursts out with the resurrection. Lowry printed the angel's words at the top of the hymn: "He is not here, but is risen" (Luke 24:6). The words and tune are in the public domain.
Few hymns act out the Easter story the way Christ Arose does. Each verse is sung low and slow, almost like a funeral march: Jesus lies in the grave, the guards watch, the stone is sealed. Then the chorus explodes, faster and louder: Up from the grave He arose! Robert Lowry, who also wrote Shall We Gather at the River and Nothing but the Blood, wrote it in 1874, and it has been an Easter favorite in American churches ever since. Below are Lowry's three verses and chorus, the story behind the hymn, and 12 KJV verses behind it, verse by verse. For the week that led to the empty tomb, see the Holy Week timeline; for another Easter hymn, see Christ the Lord Is Risen Today.
Up From the Grave He Arose (Christ Arose): the words
Verse 1
Low in the grave He lay,
Jesus, my Saviour!
Waiting the coming day,
Jesus, my Lord!
Chorus
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!
Verse 2
Vainly they watch His bed,
Jesus, my Saviour!
Vainly they seal the dead,
Jesus, my Lord!
Chorus
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!
Verse 3
Death cannot keep his prey,
Jesus, my Saviour!
He tore the bars away,
Jesus, my Lord!
Chorus
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!
Words and music: Robert Lowry (1826-1899), copyright 1874; first printed as Christ Arose in Brightest and Best, edited by Lowry and W. Howard Doane (New York: Biglow and Main, 1875), hymn 113, under the heading He is not here, but is risen (Luke 24:6). Text checked against the Internet Archive scan of that book and later hymnals, which print the same words. Public domain. The chorus is sung after every verse; some books print Saviour as Savior and Hallelujah as Alleluia.
Low in the grave He lay (verse 1)
1. Matthew 27:59-60
"And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed."
Low in the grave He lay. Jesus really died, and He was really buried. Matthew gives the details: And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. Joseph of Arimathea was a rich disciple who had kept his faith quiet until then (John 19:38). Sepulchre means tomb. The hymn's verses dwell on this silence on purpose. See Bible verses about Good Friday.
2. Luke 23:55-56
"And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment."
Jesus, my Saviour! The refrain line of each verse is a cry of love from someone standing by the tomb. Luke tells us who stood there first: And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment. The women watched where He was laid so they could come back and care for His body. Their faithfulness in the dark was rewarded on Sunday morning, when they became the first witnesses of the empty tomb. See Bible verses about grief.
3. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"
Waiting the coming day. The first Christians summed up the gospel in a few short lines, and the burial is one of them: For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Paul puts the burial between the death and the resurrection because it proves both: He was truly dead, and He truly rose. Lowry's verse waits with Jesus through that Saturday. The coming day was the third day, Easter Sunday. See 1 Corinthians 15 KJV.
4. Matthew 12:40
"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Jesus had told people ahead of time that He would lie in the grave and come out again. When the scribes and Pharisees asked Him for a sign, He pointed to the prophet Jonah: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Jonas is the Greek form of Jonah. Jewish reckoning counted part of a day as a day, so Friday afternoon to Sunday morning fits the saying. The grave was not an accident that interrupted His plan; it was part of it. Low in the grave He lay, waiting, because He knew what the third day would bring.
Vainly they seal the dead (verse 2)
5. Matthew 27:63
"Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again."
Vainly they watch His bed. The second verse turns to the guards, and Matthew explains why they were there. The day after the crucifixion, the chief priests went to Pilate: Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. It is striking that Jesus' enemies remembered His promise to rise better than His friends did. They meant to stop a resurrection rumor. Instead, they made sure there would be witnesses to the real thing.
6. Matthew 27:65-66
"Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch."
Vainly they seal the dead. Pilate gave the priests permission to secure the tomb as well as they could: Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. A watch means a guard of soldiers. The seal was probably a cord stretched across the stone and fixed with clay or wax, so that any tampering would show. Lowry repeats the word vainly because every precaution was useless. No stone, seal or soldier could hold the Lord of life in the grave. See Bible verses about the resurrection of Jesus.
7. Matthew 28:2
"And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it."
He tore the bars away. Early on Sunday morning, heaven stepped in: And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. The angel did not roll the stone away to let Jesus out; the risen Lord did not need an open door (John 20:19). It was rolled away to let the witnesses in, so they could see the tomb was empty. See Bible verses about Easter.
8. Matthew 28:4
"And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men."
With a mighty triumph o'er His foes. The soldiers who were set to guard the tomb were overwhelmed: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. Keepers means the guards. The guards were posted to keep a dead man in; at the resurrection the dead man lived, and the guards became as dead men. The powers that crucified Jesus could not stand before the power that raised Him. The chorus of Christ Arose sings of a Victor because Easter was a real defeat for everything that opposed Him. See Bible verses about victory.
Up from the grave He arose (verse 3 and chorus)
9. Luke 24:6
"He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,"
Up from the grave He arose! Lowry printed this verse at the top of the hymn, and it is the angels' first message to the women at the tomb: He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, The angels added that Jesus had told them He would be crucified and rise again the third day (Luke 24:7), and the women remembered His words (Luke 24:8). Lowry is said to have written the hymn after reading these verses in his Easter devotions in 1874. What Jesus promised, He did.
10. Acts 2:24
"Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it."
Death cannot keep his prey. Seven weeks after Easter, Peter preached the resurrection in Jerusalem, and he said the same thing Lowry's third verse says: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. Holden means held. Death had taken every human being since Adam, but it could not hold Jesus, because He had no sin of His own and death had no claim on Him. Lowry pictures death as a hunter that has caught its prey and then has it torn from its grip. That is the good news of Easter for everyone who trusts Him. See Bible verses about death.
11. Colossians 2:15
"And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it."
He arose a Victor from the dark domain. Domain means kingdom. Lowry pictures the grave as enemy territory that Jesus marched out of in triumph. Paul uses the picture of a Roman victory parade: And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Spoiled means stripped of their weapons; shew means a public display. A Roman general would lead defeated enemies through the streets for everyone to see. At the cross and the empty tomb, the dark powers that held people captive were disarmed and put on display. The victory is already won. See Bible verses about spiritual warfare.
12. 2 Timothy 1:10
"But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:"
And He lives forever with His saints to reign. The chorus does not end at the tomb; it looks ahead to a life that never ends. Paul writes that God's grace is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: Abolished means made powerless. Death still happens, but it is no longer the end for those who belong to Christ. Saints in the Bible means all believers, not only famous ones. The risen Jesus shares His life and His reign with them (Revelation 22:5). Hallelujah! Christ arose! See Bible verses about eternal life.
A short prayer
Lord Jesus, my Saviour, You lay low in the grave for me. You died for my sins, You were buried, and on the third day You rose again, just as You said. No stone, seal or guard could hold You, and death could not keep its prey. Thank You for the mighty triumph over every enemy, and for the life and immortality You have brought to light. When I stand by a grave, remind me that You live forever and that Your people will live and reign with You. Hallelujah, Christ arose! Amen.
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Frequently asked questions
Who wrote Up From the Grave He Arose?
Robert Lowry (1826-1899), a Baptist pastor and hymn writer from Philadelphia, wrote both the words and the music in 1874. The hymn's real title is Christ Arose, and it was first printed in 1875 in Brightest and Best, a Sunday school songbook Lowry edited with William Howard Doane. Lowry also wrote Shall We Gather at the River and Nothing but the Blood, and he composed the tune for I Need Thee Every Hour.
Is the hymn called Christ Arose or Low in the Grave He Lay?
Both names refer to the same hymn. Lowry titled it Christ Arose, and many hymnals use that title. Others list it by its first line, Low in the Grave He Lay. Many people know it best by its chorus, Up from the grave He arose, which is why that phrase is the most searched name for the song. The words are the same whichever title is used: three short verses and a chorus sung after each one.
What Bible verses is Christ Arose based on?
Lowry printed Luke 24:6 at the top of the hymn: he is not here, but is risen. The verses follow the burial and the guarded tomb in Matthew 27:57-66, and the chorus celebrates the resurrection in Matthew 28:1-7 and Luke 24:1-8. The ideas of death losing its prey and Christ as Victor come from Acts 2:24, Colossians 2:15 and 1 Corinthians 15. This page lists 12 KJV verses behind the hymn.
Is Christ Arose in the public domain?
Yes. Lowry's words and music were copyrighted in 1874 and published in 1875, so they are in the public domain in the United States. The text on this page follows the first printing. Many later arrangements, recordings and modern versions, including songs that borrow the chorus, can still be under copyright, so check before copying a particular arrangement. For Easter in 2027, Good Friday is March 26 and Easter Sunday is March 28.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Easter · The resurrection of Jesus · Christ the Lord Is Risen Today · Jesus Christ Is Risen Today · Were You There · Holy Week timeline · 1 Corinthians 15 KJV · Good Friday
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