When We All Get to Heaven

I. Origins

The story behind this hymn is a tale of two cities and a central common figure. John R. Sweney (1837–1899) was a prominent gospel composer and musician who spent most of his career in the West Chester and Philadelphia areas of Pennsylvania. Part of his career included ten years of service at Bethany Presbyterian Church and Sunday School in Philadelphia, at one time described as “one of the largest Sunday Schools in the United States.”[1] Sweney had also developed a career as a Sunday School songbook compiler and publisher, starting with his first collection, Gems of Praise, in 1873.

Sweney became acquainted with Eliza E. Hewitt (1851–1920) through his work in Presbyterian churches and his publishing operations. Hewitt was trained in the field of education and served for a time in a public school before becoming active in teaching Sunday Schools. She was a member of the Tabernacle (Presbyterian) Church in Philadelphia, later serving variously as Sunday School teacher and superintendent at Olivet Presbyterian Church, the Philadelphia Primary Union, and Calvin Presbyterian Church. Hewitt had a passion for writing hymns and songs to supplement her teaching. Some of them were published in songbooks as early as 1871. In the mid 1880s, she was enlisted by Sweney to write for his music collections. One of their first published collaborations was the hymn “More about Jesus,” in Glad Hallelujahs (1887). Sweney compiled The Prayer Meeting Hymn Book of Olivet Presbyterian Church (1887); Hewitt joined that church in 1890 and served there until 1905.

Among his many endeavors, Sweney was also the song leader for summer revival meetings held annually at the Methodist campgrounds in Ocean Grove, NJ. His leadership there started in 1878. The summer camp meetings at Ocean Grove attracted some notable musicians and writers. Famed gospel hymn writer Fanny Crosby said she developed friendships with composers John R. Sweney and William Kirkpatrick through these meetings.[2] Other regular attendees at Ocean Grove included prominent Methodist preacher John G. Wilson and his wife Emily D. Wilson (1865–1942). Mrs. Wilson was a skilled musician and leader in her own right. In 1903, an account from Oak Street Church in Norristown, PA (an “old landmark of Methodism”) said, “Sunday, June 14, the new presiding elder, John G. Wilson, D.D., preached on ‘The exaltation of Christ.’ Mrs. Wilson, of Ocean Grove fame, sang.”[3] Two years later, the same paper described an evangelistic campaign at the First Methodist Church of Trenton, NJ, at which “The Bishop [C.C. McCabe] was assisted by Dr. Charles M. Boswell, of Philadelphia, by the Rev. G. Reed, and Mrs. John G. Wilson in the inspiring service of song.”[4]

John R. Sweney was likely the catalyst in the introduction of Eliza Hewitt to Emily Wilson at an Ocean Grove camp meeting, where the ladies are said to have met. Together, they wrote one of the most enduring musical tributes to the afterlife, “When We All Get to Heaven,” which was first published in Pentecostal Praises (Philadelphia: Hall-Mack Co., 1898 | Fig. 1), a collection edited by William Kirkpatrick. The original version of the song contained four stanzas and a refrain. The tune name is usually given in hymnals as HEAVEN.

II. Analysis

The first stanza is based on John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (ESV). In the second stanza, singers are reminded of better days ahead, such as in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,” or especially Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” The third stanza encourages believers to continue working on earth, with the ultimate payoff occuring at the sight of Jesus. This idea is reflected in passages such as 1 John 3:2, where it says, “when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is,” or the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14–30, or Revelation 2:10, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” The fourth stanza pictures a prize, a beautiful Savior, pearly gates, and streets of gold. In the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 9:24 poses the question, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it,” and Paul told his readers in Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal for the prize,” while Hebrews 12:1–2 tells us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” Revelation 1:7 and 22:4 tell us we will one day see His face. Pearly gates and streets of gold are described in Revelation 21:21. The hymn’s chorus, describing a day of great rejoicing, is pictured in Revelation 4, 5, 7, 14, and 19.

Emily Wilson’s stirring tune supports the grand images in the text. Methodist scholar Carlton Young said of it:

This Sunday School marching tune portrays the church, its mission, and the role of the faithful Christian progressing towards a goal. . . . It is a useful genre of Christian music whereby the faithful are assured the church is on the move, irrespective of reality.[5]

by CHRIS FENNER
for Hymnology Archive
22 October 2019

Footnotes:

1. J.H. Hall, “John R. Sweney,” Biography of Gospel Song and Hymn Writers (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1914), p. 151: Archive.org

2. Fanny Crosby, Memories of Eighty Years (Boston: James H. Earle, 1906), p. 139: Archive.org

3. “News Paragraphs,” The Christian Advocate, vol. 78, no. 27 (2 July 1903), p. 1073: Google Books

4. “Church News: New Jersey Conference,” The Christian Advocate, vol. 80, no. 24 (15 June 1905), p. 950: Google Books

5. Carlton R. Young, “When we all get to heaven,” Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993), pp. 699–700.

Related Resources:

Morris S. Daniels, The Story of Ocean Grove Related in the Year of Its Golden Jubilee (NY: Methodist Book Concern, 1919), p. 158: Google Books

William J. Reynolds, “Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,” “Emily Divine Wilson,” Companion to Baptist Hymnal (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1976), pp. 194, 464–465.

C. Paulette Moore, “When we all get to heaven,” The Worshiping Church: Worship Leaders’ Edition (Carol Stream, IL: Hope, 1990), no. 679.

Carlton R. Young, “When we all get to heaven,” Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993), pp. 699–700.

A History of Olivet Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1856–2006:
http://www.olivetcovenant.com/images/150th_Anniversary_Book.pdf

Wayne S. Walker, “When we all get to heaven,” Hymn Studies Blog (21 September 2011):
https://hymnstudiesblog.wordpress.com/2011/09/

Robert Cottrill, “When we all get to heaven,” Wordwise Hymns (14 November 2011):
https://wordwisehymns.com/2011/11/14/when-we-all-get-to-heaven/

C. Michael Hawn, “When we all get to heaven,” History of Hymns (29 April 2019):
https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-when-we-all-get-to-heaven1