A little clip…

Found this little clip to-day. I think it brilliantly captures and contrasts the raw, pure passion of Leonard Ravenhill and the irreverent, ungodly nature of the modern ‘preachers’ cluttering our congregations and leading the flock astray.

Wise words from Andrew Bonar

I looked for the Church,

and I found it in the world.

I looked for the world,

and I found it in the Church.

Andrew Bonar

Agony

What more needs to be said?

(Apologies for the images within video, not much I can do about it.)

The Church’s Desolation.

Well may Thy servants mourn, my God,
The Church’s desolation;
The state of Zion calls aloud
For grief and lamentation.
Once she was all alive to Thee
And thousands were converted,
But now a sad reverse we see,
Her glory is departed.

And has religion left the Church
Without a trace behind her?
Where shall I go, where shall I search,
That I once more may find her?
Adieu, ye proud, ye light and gay,
I’ll seek the brokenhearted,
Who weep when they of Zion say,
Her glory is departed.

Some few, like good Elijah stand,
While thousands have revolted,
In earnest for the heav’nly land
They never yet have halted.
With such religion doth remain,
For they are not perverted;
Oh may they all through men regain
The glory that’s departed.

J.T. White, 1844

These words fit the tune ‘The Church’s Desolation’ from the Sacred Harp. I wonder, if J.T. White wrote these words about the Church in 1844… what would he dare write about the Church to-day?

Above is a clip of a singing of ‘The Church’s Desolation’. It cuts in towards the end of the first verse.