Certain Victory in the Spiritual Conflict Ahead

 I wrote the following in 2012 for another blogsite:

Since the election, I've noticed that as the initial finger-pointing and blaming ebbed, it gave way to hand-wringing and moaning. Then, some folks remembered God's sovereignty and adopted an attitude of somber resignation.

This past November's post-election trauma have displayed a higher intensity, but essentially remain the same. The appeal to placing one's hope in God rather than man has come AFTER the hopes placed in a candidate failed. The cycle repeats every four years.

What if, instead of making God's sovereignty our fallback position, we made it our first priority now and through the next four years? This would require us to take Christ's command to disciple the nations seriously (Matthew 28:18-20).

I really like this Gospel song, "The Kingdom is Coming" because it expresses the attitude of the Church militant going forth to conquer in the name of the King. Mary B. Slade wrote the words in 1876, and Rigdon M. McIntosh composed the melody. (CLICK HERE to hear the melody.)

From all the dark places of earth’s heathen races,
O see how the thick shadows fly!
The voice of salvation awakes every nation,
Come over and help us, they cry.

Refrain:
The kingdom is coming, O tell ye the story,
God’s banner exalted shall be!
The earth shall be full of His knowledge and glory,
As waters that cover the sea.

The sunlight is glancing o’er armies advancing
To conquer the kingdoms of sin;
Our Lord shall possess them,
His presence shall bless them,
His beauty shall enter them in.

Refrain

With shouting and singing, and jubilant ringing,
Their arms of rebellion cast down;
At last every nation the Lord of salvation
Their King and Redeemer shall crown!

Refrain

The Fight Is On

I had not heard this good old gospel tune until my wife sent me the link. The words to "The Fight is On" ring with victory, and the melody is catchy and singable.

Leila N. Morris wrote both words and melody in 1905. Click here to hear the music.

The fight is on, the trumpet sound is ringing out,
The cry “To arms!” is heard afar and near;
The Lord of hosts is marching on to victory,
The triumph of the Christ will soon appear.

Refrain
The fight is on, O Christian soldier,
And face to face in stern array,
With armor gleaming, and colors streaming,
The right and wrong engage today!
The fight is on, but be not weary;
Be strong, and in His might hold fast;
If God be for us, His banner o’er us,
We’ll sing the victor’s song at last!

The fight is on, arouse, ye soldiers brave and true!
Jehovah leads, and victory will assure;
Go buckle on the armor God has given you,
And in His strength unto the end endure.

Refrain

The Lord is leading on to certain victory;
The bow of promise spans the eastern sky;
His glorious Name in every land shall honored be;
The morn will break, the dawn of peace is nigh.

Refrain

King Alfred's War Song

Alfred, King of Wessex, A.D. 871-899, used the Bible as a basis for some of his codification of English law. Tradition ascribes the war song below to him.

When the enemy comes in a’roarin’ like a flood,
Coveting the kingdom and hungering for blood,
The Lord will raise a standard up and lead His people on, 
The Lord of Hosts will go before defeating every foe;
Defeating every foe.

For the Lord is our defense, Jesus defend us,
For the Lord is our defense, Jesu defend.

Some men trust in chariots, some trust in the horse,
But we will depend upon the Name of Christ our Lord,
The Lord has made my hands to war and my fingers to fight.
The Lord lays low our enemies, but He raises us upright;
He raises us upright.

For the Lord is our defense, Jesus defend us,
For the Lord is our defense, Jesu defend.

A thousand fall on my left hand, ten thousand to the right,
But He will defend us from the arrow in the night.
Protect us from the terrors of the teeth of the devourer,
Embue us with Your Spirit, Lord, emcompass us with power;
Encompass us with power.

For the Lord is our defense, Jesus defend us,
For the Lord is our defense, Jesu defend

Self Defense Song with Hebrew Flavor

Some years back, my barber sent me the link to this songwriter's channel on youtube. I found this Bible based self defense song and  shared it in another place. It reminds me of a Hebrew folk type song.

After too long a hiatus, I'm bringing it to WARSKYL for your inspiration and enjoyment.

Come O Thou Traveler Unknown

“Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him til daybreak.” Genesis 32:24

Before wrestling with forces of wickedness in high places, we would do well to wrestle first with God. I could not find a performance of this hymn that included all 14 stanzas, but I have provided them below the video.

Come, O thou Traveler unknown, Whom still I hold, but cannot see! My company before is gone, And I am left alone with Thee; With Thee all night I mean to stay, And wrestle till the break of day. I need not tell Thee who I am, My misery and sin declare; Thyself hast called me by my name, Look on Thy hands, and read it there; But who, I ask Thee, who art Thou? Tell me Thy name, and tell me now. In vain Thou strugglest to get free, I never will unloose my hold! Art Thou the Man that died for me? The secret of Thy love unfold; Wrestling, I will not let Thee go, Till I Thy name, Thy nature know. Wilt Thou not yet to me reveal Thy new, unutterable Name? Tell me, I still beseech Thee, tell; To know it now resolved I am; Wrestling, I will not let Thee go, Till I Thy Name, Thy nature know. ’Tis all in vain to hold Thy tongue Or touch the hollow of my thigh; Though every sinew be unstrung, Out of my arms Thou shalt not fly; Wrestling I will not let Thee go Till I Thy name, Thy nature know. What though my shrinking flesh complain, And murmur to contend so long? I rise superior to my pain, When I am weak, then I am strong And when my all of strength shall fail, I shall with the God-man prevail. My strength is gone, my nature dies, I sink beneath Thy weighty hand, Faint to revive, and fall to rise; I fall, and yet by faith I stand; I stand and will not let Thee go Till I Thy Name, Thy nature know. Yield to me now, for I am weak, But confident in self-despair; Speak to my heart, in blessings speak, Be conquered by my instant prayer; Speak, or Thou never hence shalt move, And tell me if Thy Name is Love. ’Tis Love! ’tis Love! Thou diedst for me! I hear Thy whisper in my heart; The morning breaks, the shadows flee, Pure, universal love Thou art; To me, to all, Thy bowels move; Thy nature and Thy Name is Love. My prayer hath power with God; the grace Unspeakable I now receive; Through faith I see Thee face to face, I see Thee face to face, and live! In vain I have not wept and strove; Thy nature and Thy Name is Love. I know Thee, Savior, who Thou art. Jesus, the feeble sinner’s friend; Nor wilt Thou with the night depart. But stay and love me to the end, Thy mercies never shall remove; Thy nature and Thy Name is Love. The Sun of righteousness on me Hath rose with healing in His wings, Withered my nature’s strength; from Thee My soul its life and succor brings; My help is all laid up above; Thy nature and Thy Name is Love. Contented now upon my thigh I halt, till life’s short journey end; All helplessness, all weakness I On Thee alone for strength depend; Nor have I power from Thee to move: Thy nature, and Thy name is Love. Lame as I am, I take the prey, Hell, earth, and sin, with ease o’ercome; I leap for joy, pursue my way, And as a bounding hart fly home, Through all eternity to prove Thy nature and Thy Name is Love.

Songs for Christian Warriors: The Blacksmith of Brandywine

In 1963 Pat Garvey wrote the song "The Blacksmith of Brandywine", based upon a legend of the Battle of Brandywine . . . . 


If you want to read, see and hear the rest of this post, click here.

The Kingdom is Coming

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Martin Luther's catechism says that "Thy Kingdom come" means both that God's Kingdom . . . 


To continue reading this post, click here.

We Rest on Thee, Our Shield and our Defender!

I remember, as a boy, gazing with horror at the pictures of bodies in Life Magazine as they lay face down in the river, spears sticking out of them. I also remember Elizabeth Elliott's book Through Gates of Splendor on our shelf at home.

The death of five missionaries slaughtered by the Auca Indians in January of 1956 reverberated through the Christian world. So did the song they sang before embarking on what would be their last mission: "We Rest on Thee, Our Shield and Our Defender".

 Elizabeth Elliott, wife to one of the slain used a line from that hymn as the title of her book about the five missionaries. The book, and the event that inspired it . . . .

To continue with this post as it appears on christianwarrior.co click here.

All Authority and Power

Christopher M. Idle, author of the stirring hymn "All Authority and Power", based it upon Christ's Great Commission (Matthew 28: 18-20) along with passages like Romans 10 and Philippians 2. I marvel that some can sing this song and yet maintain that the Great Commission contains no cultural component.

How can Jesus' rightful claim to reign over the rulers of the nations have no cultural impact? Not even on such cultural expressions as abortion, homosexual marriage and the [godless/demonic] education of our children?

The Great Commission plainly states that we must teach the nations to obey all that Jesus commanded. If "all the clear commands of Jesus must be heeded and obeyed," how can we avoid the cultural implications of what He said about interpersonal relationships -- family, brethren, neighbors and even enemies?

Below the hymn you will find the text of a little tract I printed up. It expresses the claims of Christ as found in Matthew 28, Psalm 2 and other loci of Scripture.

Melody: Unser Herrscher (Click link to hear)

1 All authority and power,
ev'ry status and domain,
now belongs to one who suffered
our redemption to obtain;
angels, demons, kings and rulers,
over all shall Jesus reign!

2 All the nations owe him worship,
ev'ry tongue shall call him Lord;
how are they to call upon him
if his name they have not heard?
Therefore go and make disciples,
preach his gospel, spread his Word.

3 All the clear commands of Jesus
must be heeded and obeyed;
full provision for our weakness
in his teaching he has made;
in the Gospel words and symbols
saving truth to us conveyed.

4 All the time he will be with us,
always, to the end of days;
with his own believing people
who keep steadfast in his ways.
God the Father, Son and Spirit,
bless us, and to God be praise!

Jesus Christ is King

You cannot impeach Him

He will never resign

Therefore, the only sane and logical course is to acknowledge Him and submit to His rule as individuals, families, communities and nations.

Lord, Keep Us Steadfast -- Martin Luther

Thanks to my wife for sending me the following:


Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy Word;
Curb those who fain by craft and sword
Would wrest the kingdom from Thy Son
And set at naught all He hath done.

Lord Jesus Christ, Thy pow’r make known,
For Thou art Lord of lords alone;
Defend Thy Christendom that we
May evermore sing praise to Thee.

O Comforter of priceless worth,
Send peace and unity on earth.
Support us in our final strife
And lead us out of death to life.

by Martin Luther

Stouthearted Men

I've always found this song stirring, even if some think it's corny. Here's the video, and the words are below it.

When you think about it, this song expresses the major theme of stories like Rio Bravo, El Dorado, The Magnificent Seven, Tombstone and Silverado to name just a few (of the best). I want to dedicate this song to the memory of the brave men killed on the Chinook that was shot down in Afghanistan.

>
YOU WHO HAVE DREAMS,

IF YOU ACT THEY WILL COME TRUE!

TO TURN YOUR DREAMS TO A FACT,

IT`S UP TO YOU!

IF YOU HAVE THE SOUL

AND THE SPIRIT,

NEVER FEAR IT,

YOU`LL SEE IT THROUGH.

HEARTS CAN INSPIRE OTHER HEARTS

WITH THEIR FIRE.

FOR THE STRONG OBEY

WHEN A STRONG MAN

SHOWS THEM THE WAY!



[Chorus]:

GIVE ME SOME MEN

WHO ARE STOUTHEARTED MEN

WHO WILL FIGHT

FOR THE RIGHT

THEY ADORE.

START ME WITH TEN,

WHO ARE STOUTHEARTED MEN

AND I`LL SOON GIVE YOU

TEN THOUSAND MORE.

OH!

SHOULDER TO SHOULDER

AND BOLDER AND BOLDER

THEY GROW

AS THEY GO

TO THE FORE!

THEN THERE`S NOTHING

IN THE WORLD

CAN HALT

OR MAR A PLAN,

WHEN STOUTHEARTED MEN

CAN STICK TOGETHER

MAN TO MAN.

Oft in Sorrow, Oft in Woe

My wife sent me the words to this song. You may hear the melody here.

Oft in sorrow, oft in woe,
Onward, Christian, onward go:
Fight the fight, maintain the strife
Strengthened with the Bread of life.

Onward Christians, onward go,
Join the war, and face the foe;
Faint not: Much does yet remain,
Dreary is the long campaign.

Shrink not, Christians will ye yield?
Will ye quit the painful field?
Will ye flee in danger’s hour?
Know ye not your Captain’s pow’r?

Let your drooping hearts be glad:
March in heavenly armor clad:
Fight, nor think the battle long,
Victory soon shall be your song.

Let not sorrow dim your eye,
Soon shall every tear be dry;
Let not fears your course impede,
Great your strength, if great your need.

Onward then in battle move,
More than conquerors ye shall prove;
Though opposed by many a foe,
Christian soldiers onward go.

We Are Soldiers of King Jesus

My wife sent me the words to this song. It's one of those simple, yet melodious gospel tunes that come from the Moody/Sankey era.

Ada Blenkhorn wrote the words in 1900, and H.N. Lindsay composed the tune. Here are the words:

We are soldiers of King Jesus,
Clad in armor bright;
And we follow where He leads us,
Fighting for the right.

Refrain

Marching, marching ever onward,
’Neath His banner so bright,
We are soldiers of King Jesus,
Fighting for the right.

We are soldiers of King Jesus,
He’s our Captain true,
And whatever He shall bid us,
We will gladly do.

Refrain

We are soldiers of King Jesus,
We’re a loyal band;
We are bold, and brave, and fearless,
True to His command.

Refrain

We are soldiers of King Jesus;
Tho’ the fight be long,
We shall share the victor’s triumph,
Sing the victor’s song.

Refrain

Let Tyrants Shake Their Iron Rods

My wife Laura sent me the words to the following song which comes from the era of the American War of Independence. According to Cyberhymnal,

This hymn is of in­ter­est be­cause of its his­tor­i­cal back­ground. Known as the “Bat­tle Hymn of the Re­vo­lution”:

[It] was al­most as fa­mous in its day as the “Bat­tle Hymn of the Re­pub­lic” at a lat­er time. Ev­ery­where, in church and home, by the child­ren and the ag­ed, these words were sung with pas­sion­ate fer­vor. The sol­diers knew them by heart, and to the sound of fife and drum they sang them as they adv­anced to meet the foe. This Bat­tle Hymn con­trib­ut­ed not a lit­tle to the win­ning of the Re­vo­lu­tion­ary War.

Smith, pp. 250-1

It is sung to the hymn tune Chester.

Let tyrants shake their iron rods,
And slavery clank her galling chains:
We see them not; we trust in God:
New England’s God forever reigns.

Christian, Dost Thou See Them?

The Seventh Century (A.D. 600's) saw the rise of Islam and the beginning of its bloody conquest of the Christian Middle East and North Africa. Andrew of Crete (660-732) served the Church in Jerusalem, Constantinople and Crete during the stormy days of Islam's bloody rise.

That background should help you see the significance of Andrew's hymn, Christian, Dost Thou See Them? In it, he clearly identifies the demonic influence that lies at the core of Mohamed's  false religion.

John M. Neale translated the hymn into English in 1862, and John B. Dykes composed the tune, St. Andrew of Crete in 1868. (Thanks to my wife Laura for sending me the words to this great & ancient hymn.)

Christian, dost thou see them on the holy ground,
How the powers of darkness rage thy steps around?
Christian, up and smite them, counting gain but loss,
In the strength that cometh by the holy cross.

Christian, dost thou feel them, how they work within,
Striving, tempting, luring, goading into sin?
Christian, never tremble; never be downcast;
Gird thee for the battle, watch and pray and fast.

Christian, dost thou hear them, how they speak thee fair?
“Always fast and vigil? Always watch and prayer?”
Christian, answer boldly: “While I breathe I pray!”
Peace shall follow battle, night shall end in day.

“Well I know thy trouble, O my servant true;

Thou art very weary, I was weary, too;

But that toil shall make thee some day all Mine own,

At the end of sorrow shall be near my throne.”

If you need some motivation to sing this hymn from the heart, try reading this article:


The Muslim Brotherhood in America

Be Strong

Here's the gospel song of exhortation entitled "Be Strong". My wife Laura found it, and I thought it would be a good one to post for the new year.

The author is Maltbie D. Babcock, who also wrote "This is My Father's World." The melody is called Harold (composed by Carl F. Price), and you can hear it at this link.

Be strong!
We are not here to play, to dream, to drift;
We have hard work to do and loads to lift;
Shun not the struggle, face it, ’tis God’s gift.
Be strong, be strong, be strong!

Be strong!
Say not the days are evil—who’s to blame?
And fold the hands and acquiesce—O shame!
Stand up, speak out, and bravely, in God’s Name.
Be strong, be strong, be strong!

Be strong!
It matters not how deep entrenched the wrong,
How hard the battle goes, the day, how long;
Faint not, fight on! Tomorrow comes the song.
Be strong, be strong, be strong!

Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition

Since I grew up in post WWII America, it should come as no surprise that my folks had the sheet music for Frank Loesser and James Sanderson's "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition." Through the years, however, whenever some radio station played the song, they invariably played the very catchy Kay Kyser version, which only included the chorus.

I have included the lyrics below the video, in case you want to follow along. Oh, and in case you didn't know, a sky pilot is a chaplain.




Down went the gun-ner, a bul - let was his fate
Down went the gun-ner, and then the gun-ner's mate
Up jumped the sky pi-lot, gave the boys a look
And manned the gun him-self as he laid a-side TheBook, shout-ing:

"Praise The Lord, and pass the am-mu-ni-tion!
Praise The Lord, and pass the am-mu-ni-tion!
Praise The Lord, and pass the am-mu-ni-tion and we'll all stay free!

Praise The Lord, and swing in-to po-si-tion,
Can't af-ford to sit a-round a'-wish-in'
Praise The Lord, we're all be-tween per-dition
and the deep blue sea!"

Yes the sky pi-lot said it You've got to give him cred-it
for a son-of-a-gun of a gun-ner was he,
Shouting: "Praise The Lord,
we're on a might - y mis-sion!
All a-board! We're not a - go - in' fish-in',
Praise The Lord, and pass the am-mu-ni-tion
and we'll all stay free."

Conquering Now and Still to Conquer

My wife found this Fanny Crosby song, and I liked the words (based on seeing Rev. 6:2 --correctly, I believe -- as referring to Jesus) enough that I thought I should share them with you. You can listen to the MIDI file of the melody by clicking here.

Conquering now and still to conquer,  rideth a King in His might;
Leading the host of all the faithful into the midst of the fight;
See them with courage advancing, clad in their brilliant array,
Shouting the Name of their Leader, hear them exultingly say:

Refrain:
Not to the strong is the battle,
Not to the swift is the race,
Yet to the true and the faithful
Vict’ry is promised through grace.

Conquering now and still to conquer, who is this wonderful King?
Whence are the armies which He leadeth, while of His glory they sing?
He is our Lord and Redeemer, Savior and Monarch divine;
They are the stars that forever bright in His kingdom shall shine.

Refrain

Conquering now and still to conquer, Jesus, Thou Ruler of all,
Thrones and their scepters all shall perish, crowns and their splendor  shall fall,
Yet shall the armies Thou leadest, faithful and true to the last,
Find in Thy mansions eternal rest, when their warfare is past.

My Rifle, Pony and Me

A few weeks back, my daughter Merrianna bought a DVD of the John Wayne movie Rio Bravo. We enjoyed watching it again -- it has been a favorite for years.

The theme of strong men trying to do the right thing against all odds appeals to me. Then there are tactical survival hints, such as what John Wayne's character does just before he sits down to talk to Ward Bond's character in the hotel lobby.

Another attractive aspect is the mutual respect and camaraderie among the main characters. Nothing forges bonds like facing hard times together.

At one of their low points, the main characters are hunkered down in the jail house. In the providence of the writers, it's just the time for a song -- and thanks to good casting, Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson are on hand to do the singing.

(Note to my barber: In our personal dark times, we never broke into song, bro, but we did hunker down and laugh at the absurdities of the evil around us. Enjoy the song.)

For All the Saints

"For All the Saints"  by William How  is sung to the tune Sine Nomine.The hymn is about the communion of the saints, the concept that in Christ we are united to all those faithful who have gone before and to all those yet to come.

 Below are eleven stanzas -- all good.


For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For the Apostles’ glorious company,
Who bearing forth the Cross o’er land and sea,
Shook all the mighty world, we sing to Thee:
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For the Evangelists, by whose blest word,
Like fourfold streams, the garden of the Lord,
Is fair and fruitful, be Thy Name adored.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For Martyrs, who with rapture kindled eye,
Saw the bright crown descending from the sky,
And seeing, grasped it, Thee we glorify.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
All are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
And singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!