Howard E. Smith (born July 16, 1863)

Howard E. Smith was an American church organist and gospel-song composer whose most enduring contribution was a melody sturdy enough for congregational singing and warm enough to carry deep comfort. Born in the shadow of the Civil War’s upheaval, he grew up in a nation learning to mend—families grieving, communities rebuilding, and churches calling weary hearts to hope. Smith’s life illustrates a quiet kind of heroism: not the battlefield, but the steady service of shaping worship so ordinary believers could sing truth into fear and sorrow.

“Love Lifted Me” and James Rowe

Smith’s best-known tune became the musical home for “Love Lifted Me,” later joined to lyrics by James Rowe, a gifted hymn writer and gospel-song editor. Rowe supplied words that picture rescue from drowning—an image that presses the conscience and steadies the soul. Smith’s singable, forward-moving melody gives the hymn its sense of rising, like a strong arm drawing a sinking person into safety. The refrain’s plain testimony—“When nothing else could help, Love lifted me”—helped congregations confess Christ’s saving mercy with clarity, joy, and confidence.

Faith, Rescue, and Enduring Use

The hymn’s message echoes Scripture’s own rescue language: “He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.” (Psalm 40:2). It also points to the heart of the gospel: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).

Smith’s legacy reminds the church that faithful craftsmanship can become ministry for generations. Behind many beloved hymns stands a servant who simply offers his best to the Lord—and, through that offering, helps the saints sing their way toward courage, repentance, and hope.