As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
I was contemplating with sadness that some of the most beautiful Christian prose is not in the Bible, but only arose with Protestant Christians in the 1700 and 1800's. It was not just the prose which was moving, but the melodies are perfection. As Johann Sebastian Bach once told his choir, "You may be singing good enough for me, but you are singing for God, so sing it again"
Most songs in Protestant Christianity, and that does not mean Catholics as they produced chants out of that sect, are about the real morning and sorrow of life, of being helpless, feeling small and not knowing what to do. Broken down, that is where Faith is the foundation of every Christian.
I will feature a few of the most beautiful as examples of the sorrows in the songs in the groaning of the heart in people for being carried through.
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee;
E’en though it be a cross
That raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee
Just as I am, is a song I first heard in March, when I was 8 years old. It was beautiful, as it was sung by a relative with a deep voice. It was at my sister's funeral. I dislike this song because of it. It also brings from the wells deep down tears like no other song.
You will find that these songs, when in emotional distress, pull emotion from inside the Spirit of us in such grief in tears which are spilled, not cried.
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
The great Martin Luther wrote A Mighty Fortress is Our God. It is an anticipation to be delivered from evil which is what Dr. Luther faced along with all Protestants. It is more uplifting like the encouraging What a Friend We have in Jesus, but all are focused on a person in personal trouble and the looking to God for some way out that only God would provide.
A mighty Fortress is our God,
A Bulwark never failing;
Our Helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer!
Few songs are like Holy, Holy, Holy. These are the songs of Reformation Sunday. They extol like Onward Christian Soldiers and Crown Him with many Crowns. All beautiful, but rare as the Christian condition is Christ the Joy and the world is of sorrows, the sorrows so we do not become so attached to the fleeting moments of life here.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
I did not make the rules of Salvation. Those are God's alone. There is only One Way, Truth, and Life and that is Christ the Lord. Only those who believe the Word as their only payment to be saved by God, will be saved. Those are the rules of God.
I am not going to go over again the reasoning for the above as they are in the archives and people are too lazy to look for them there. This is about the songs of Protestant Christians, and I would suggest your obtaining a now discarded Blue or Red Hymnal from the Missouri Synod Lutherans when they were still Christians and not polluted in changing songs and the message, for the times ahead, when singing songs as offerings before your prayers to God for deliverance is the only thing you will have that matters.
Nuff Said
agtG
