James Rowe (1865–1933)

On November 10, 1933, hymnwriter James Rowe died, leaving behind a body of gospel song marked by clear doctrine and tender appeal. British-born and later long associated with Salvation Army ministry, he learned to speak to ordinary hearts in plain words—street-level language for street-level need. His hymns carry the sound of open-air meetings, rescue work, and earnest prayer, where sinners were urged to come as they were and saints were urged to live as they should.

Rowe’s gift was to make truths that can seem distant feel immediate: sin is real, grace is greater, and Christ is able. He wrote with a shepherd’s tone—warm, direct, and hopeful—so that weary people could sing their way back to faith, repentance, and obedience.

“Love Lifted Me”

Rowe’s best-known lyric begins, “I was sinking deep in sin,” capturing helplessness without despair. The song presents Christ not as a distant example but as a present Savior who enters the waters and brings the drowning safely home. That theme echoes: “He pulled me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.” (Psalm 40:2)

The heroism celebrated here is not human self-rescue but the mercy of the Lord who seeks, finds, and keeps. The hymn trains the church to testify plainly: salvation is not earned by climbing; it is received by being lifted.

“I Would Be Like Jesus”

Rowe also wrote to believers who needed strength for daily holiness. “I Would Be Like Jesus” is a sung prayer for a life shaped by the Savior’s purity—at home, at work, in temptation, and in quiet choices no one sees. Its steady refrain calls for more than momentary emotion; it presses toward character formed by grace.

Scripture matches that aim: “But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” (1 Peter 1:15)

Enduring Use in the Church

Rowe’s hymns remain in worship because they unite invitation and instruction—Christ’s rescuing love and Christ’s sanctifying call. They encourage the fainthearted, warn the careless, and steady the sincere, reminding congregations that the Lord still lifts, keeps, and changes lives.