Martin Luther would sing it when he felt discouraged. or sore-tried in his fight against Rome. We read that there were moments when Luther would feel something akin to despair, and he would ask with the Psalmist: Why art thou cast down, O my soul? In such hours, he would say to Melanchthon, "Come, Philip, let us sing the 46th Psalm" and the two friends would sing together.
Not sayin yer Luther, but if the Lord used it to encourage him ... Besides, the Parliamentarian Army bivouacs would ring with psalm singing during the English Civil War.
May their battle truly be ours.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
On Easter eve, one of my favorite hymns.
A friend sent me this link, with the comment, "Keep up the good work. Thought this would help." He could not know that Psalm 46, "A Mighty Fortress in the Storm" from the Scottish Psalter of 1650 is one of my favorites.
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When my way groweth drear, precious Lord, linger near, through the storm, through the dark, through the night. I have been to the mount, I have seen the promised land, Precious Lord, take me home.
Mike,
Although those are great passages and I firmly believe that the more spiritual ammo you have the better, I am partial to this one:
Revelation 22:20-21 KJV, old.
"He which testifieth to these things saith, "Surely I come quickly."
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus the Christ be with you all. Amen"
I ain't no KJV Only guy, but the end of the writings along with the majesty of the old language reaffirms a certainty that I've never forsaken.
(Great, NOW I'll be called a Bible
thumping extremist gun nut. Hmm, I ask ye all, DILLIGAF?")
Go get some sleep, Mike, I will wait fer ya ta approve my comments later...
The third verse of "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" is also appropriate as each moves to confront Leviathan.
And let us not forget - though not directly quoting Scripture - the Battle Hymn of the Republic... and do not these words seem to ring loudly and true in our present circumstances?
I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,
For God is marching on."
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
While God is marching on.
He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is Succour to the brave,
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of Time His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Amen. And a most Blessed Easter to all.
"May their battle truly be our battle."
I lay down this maxim of Divinity; Tyranny being a work of Satan, is not from God, because sin either habitual or actual, is not from God; the power that is, must be from God; the Magistrate as Magistrate, is good, in nature of office, and the intrinsic end of his office, Rom. 13:4, for he is the Minister of God for thy good; and therefore a power ethical, political, or moral, to oppress, is not from God, and is not a power, but a licentious deviation of a power, and is no more from God, but from sinful nature, and the old serpent, then a license to sin."
—Samuel Rutherford, Lex Rex (1644).
From the former Lutheran preseminary student:
May the Light shine in you and defeat our enemies.
God bless.
Amen.
He is risen indeed!
Eric
III to get ready. . .
Hi Mike,
Tis' Easter morn and the flowery script doth flow,
our cause is right,
our fight is just
and on this road we must go,
forward we treck,
out sights trained straight ahead,
and the wretchedness of our battlefield
shows our condition,
"Nevermind" we hail!,
and with great vigor proclaim,
"Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!!!!!!!!!!!"
III,
skybill-out
Psalm 27 seems to me to be most fitting:
(ASV):
1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
2 For they will wither quickly like the grass
And fade like the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.
11 But the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked plots against the righteous
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow
To cast down the afflicted and the needy,
To slay those who are upright in conduct.
15 Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their bows will be broken.
16 Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the LORD sustains the righteous.
18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
And their inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And in the days of famine they will have abundance.
20 But the wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the LORD will be like the glory of the pastures,
They vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous is gracious and gives.
22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,
But those cursed by Him will be cut off.
23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
And He delights in his way.
24 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.
25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging bread.
26 All day long he is gracious and lends,
And his descendants are a blessing.
27 Depart from evil and do good,
So you will abide forever.
28 For the LORD loves justice
And does not forsake His godly ones;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
And dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
And his tongue speaks justice.
31 The law of his God is in his heart;
His steps do not slip.
32 The wicked spies upon the righteous
And seeks to kill him.
33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand
Or let him be condemned when he is judged.
34 Wait for the LORD and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.
36 Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright;
For the man of peace will have a posterity.
38 But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;
The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
He is their strength in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.
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