Julia Ward Howe – The Battle Hymn of the Republic

For those who haven’t heard it 1,000 times these past two days, happy new year!

American poet and author Julia Ward Howe was an abolitionist during the Civil War.  She was a playwright, with works including Leonora, The World’s Own, and Hippolytus.

She is best known as the author of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.  During her trip to visit President Abraham Lincoln, her friend James Freeman Clarke asked her to write alternative words to John Brown’s Body, which is a marching song about abolitionist John Brown’s death and calls for violence, to hang the enemy from trees.

Howe’s lyrics were published in the Atlantic Monthly in February 1862, quickly becoming one of the most popular songs that the Union sang during the American Civil War.  This song pushed her into the public, granting her an audience to speak against slavery and the suffering of women.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

Howe intermixes references to Jesus’ second coming with the American Civil War, stating that the Union’s war and judgment therein is similar to the battle of armageddon.  The South rebelled and fought against the Union and will pay for it.  People all over the world rebel and will experience God’s wrath.  Ultimately, God and His truth will prevail.

Verse 3 contains a statement so unbiblical that most modern renditions of The Battle Hymn of the Republic omit it.  It proclaims a holy war Gospel, that Christianity is spread by fighting, killing, and forcing others to conform.  Such a message is responsible for needless suffering and death that bruises Christ’s name.

This song follows basic format.

Score: 7/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

Almost all of it is Biblical, except for Howe’s blasphemous statement about the Gospel’s transmission through war and violence.

[Verse 1]

Mine eyes hath seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;

Howe claims to see the Lord’s glory, not the Lord Himself.  She provides evidence of His Glory later in the song.

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;

This references Revelation 14:9-10 and  Revelation 14:17-20, which talks about the harvest and winepress as images for the wrath of God upon unbelievers.

He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;

Deuteronomy 32:41, Psalm 45:3-5, and Ezekiel 21:28 all speak of a lightning or flashing sword, used swiftly to repay against adversaries.  In Revelation 19:15, there is a connection between the winepress of God’s wrath discussed in line 2 with a sharp sword, used for the same purpose as the aforementioned lighting sword Verses.  Finally, Revelation 1:16 and Revelation 2:16 contain references to the sword that comes out of Christ’s mouth.

His truth is marching on.

Jesus is the truth (John 14:6) and His words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35 and Luke 21:33).

[Chorus]

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

The word ‘Hallelujah”  is a compound Hebrew phrase, with “hallelu” meaning “a joyous praise in song” and “jah” or “yah”, which refers to the Tetragrammaton YHWH. Put together, we are singing “we joyfully praise God in song”.  The last part of line 2 repeats Verse 1, line 4.

[Verse 2]

I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;

This references the Union camps during the American Civil War, where there were watch-fires and altars of worship.  Much like in Israel’s history, Howe believes that God uses this northern army to rightfully judge the south for continuing the slave trade.  This is not about retribution.  After all, the South seceded and fired first.

His day is marching on.

That is, the great and terrible day of the Lord, where Jesus will take vengeance on mankind who broke His Laws and did not repent and trust in Him.

[Verse 3]

I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
“As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal”;

I don’t know what Gospel Howe refers to, but it’s certainly not a Gospel that involves shooting those who break God’s Laws.  That’s not how Jesus or His Apostles preached the Gospel.  In fact, Jesus spoke against it (Matthew 26:52).  No wonder so many modern hymnals exclude this Verse!

While some have concluded that to some, to receive the Gospel is like being shot or cut (Hebrews 4:12), it doesn’t make sense of the context.  The Union is at war with the South.  Both sides use their “rows of steel” to kill one another.  The Gospel might be fiery, but spreading it through death is not Biblical.

Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,

This references Genesis 3:15, which prophecies the wounded warrior, Jesus, who would crush Satan, yet stricken.  Part of Christ’s mission is to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).

Since God is marching on.

See commentary on Verse 1, line 4.

[Verse 4]

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;

There will be a trumpet that precedes Christ’s second coming (Zephaniah 1:14-16, Matthew 24:30-31, and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52).  Jesus will be victorious, implying that he won’t withdraw (Revelation 19:20-21).

He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;

God separates the righteous from the unrighteous (Matthew 13:49).  The Bible uses several images for this concept, including wheat and chaff (Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17), sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31-33), and wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24-30).

Side Note: By “righteous”, I mean those who are in right standing with God, not perfect people.  Those who are in right standing repented and put their trust in Jesus.

Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;

Howe speaks to herself, that she should respond to God’s calling to join God’s army and please the One who enlisted her (2 Timothy 2:4).

Our God is marching on.

See commentary on Verse 1, line 4.

[Verse 5]

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,

From Howe’s perspective, Bethlehem is across the pond.  This is where Jesus was born (Matthew 2:1 and Luke 2:4-7).

With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:

That is, Christ transforms us from people who are dead in our sins to individuals who are alive in Him (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).

As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free;

Both statements are about sacrifice for others.  Jesus sacrificed Himself to bear our sins (Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 19:30, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).  In the same way, Howe is willing to die so that others may attain freedom in America.

Side Note: Many modern covers replace the word “die” with “live”, which makes me wonder if we’ve become too soft and unwilling to die for Christ.

While God is marching on.

See commentary on Verse 1, line 4.

[Verse 6]

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,

That is, Christ is coming again (Matthew 24:43, Acts 1:9-11, 1 Corinthians 11:26, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4, 2 Peter 3:10, and Revelation 16:15).

He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;

God cannot offer to us things to which He does not possess Himself.  According to Revelation 7:12, Jesus has both wisdom and honor.  It is within His purview to bestow the same upon us.

So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,

The first part comes from Isaiah 66:1 and Acts 7:49.  It shows how significant God is compared to the world, that He is big and we are small.

The second part proclaims that wicked people become slaves to righteousness when they receive Christ as Lord (Romans 6:15-23).

Our God is marching on.

Repeats Verse 1, line 4.

Score: 7/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

For unbelievers, this is an American patriotic song about the Civil war.  Assuming that they read the lyrics for themselves, they will see many references to God, Christ, and His second coming, lending to a Christian interpretation.  Despite its thick Christianese language and deep theology that the studied would comprehend, therein exists a simple, easy to understand message: Christians believe that Christ will come again.

I doubt that they will respond kindly to Verse 3, assuming that they read/hear a version that contains it.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

While it glorifies God that it proclaims Jesus’ return, its message of spreading the Gospel through violence mars it.

Score: 7/10

Closing Comments

Julia Ward Howe’s The Battle Hymn of the Republic is a good song with a major error.  It prepares our hearts for battle, ready and willing to give our lives for the cause of Christ.  We look forward to the day Jesus returns and restores the world, giving Him glory.  Its message of spreading the Gospel through war is disturbing, deserving its exclusion in modern renditions.  Unbelievers will conclude that it speaks of Jesus’ return, thick with Christianese language and theology that requires deeper study to comprehend.

This song is inspirational, but considering its usage in American patriotism, I find it difficult to recommend it for corporate worship.  Should you decide to consider it, please remove Verse 3.

Final Score: 7/10

Artist Info

Track: The Battle Hymn of the Republic (listen Lee Greenword’s version of the song)

Artist: Julia Ward Howe

Album: N/A

Genre: Hymn

Release Year: 1862

Duration: N/A

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

Updates:

08/24/2021 – Forgot to link a version to listen.  I added Lee Greenword’s contemporary version.