The melody is played paradoxically in Stagecoach (1939), in the early scene is which Claire Trevor's character Dallas is run out of town.

It was used in the Sam Peckinpah films Major Dundee (1965) and also The Wild Bunch (1969) where it was employed as ironic counterpoint during an onscreen massacre.

It features prominently in David Lean's romantic comedy Hobson's Choice (1954) and in Richard Brooks's drama Elmer Gantry (1960).

A caricatural vocal rendition of the song (with new revival-style lyrics) is used for both a car chase and the end credits of Howard Morris' caper comedy, Who's Minding the Mint?

The hymn is a primary musical theme for schlock film Tromeo and Juliet (1996), credited on the soundtrack as Yes, We'll Gather at the River.

[4][5] In Sweden, the 1876 hymn to the same melody O, hur saligt att få vandra ("O, how blessed it is to walk") became one of the most popular songs of the widespread Swedish revivalist movement.

[citation needed] In Germany, the melody of the hymn became a well-known christmas carol named Welchen Jubel, welche Freude ("What rejoice, o what a joy") with the lyrics of Ernst Gebhardt [de] (1832–1899).