Hymn

I don’t think I can add any comment to this, the song, and it’s lyrics stand for themselves.

Not for the modern, ‘relevant’ church.

You’ll not hear or read lyrics like this in any modern, ‘relveant’ church. I wonder why?

Am I a soldier of the cross,
A foll’wer of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His name?
Must I be carried to the skies
On flow’ry beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?

Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?
Sure I must fight if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord,
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy word.

Who needs drums and guitars?

It seems that nowadays, churches want to be modern, relevant and entertaining when it comes to the subject of music. These are three things which Christ never required of His Church and never ordained. Perhaps this was becase there was never any need for drums and guitars when man’s voice can create such beautiful sounds and harmonies by itself.

O the night of time shall soon pass away,
When the Lord shall come for me;
When the pilgrim’s staff shall be laid aside,
When the Lord shall come for me.

Chorus:

When the Lord shall come for me,
And His nail pierced hands I see,
Will my soul be washed in His precious blood,
When the Lord shall come for me.

O the happy day that shall gild the hills,
When the Lord shall come for me;
O the happy hearts that shall welcome Him,
When the Lord shall come for me.

(Chorus)

What a joyful time when the earth shall gleam,
When the Lord shall come for me;
When the saints shall sing unto Christ, their King,
When the Lord shall come for me.

(Chorus)

Aldine Silliman Kieffer

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.