Day 38 - Battle Hymn of the Republic (11/4/12)

Day 38 of 40 days of prayer for the election: Originally posted on Facebook on November 4, 2012

Sunday, hymn day! I saved the best hymn (my opinion) for the last Sunday. My choice today is "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." I always liked this song as a kid. It is easy to play and to sing, even in my limited range. It is strong and dynamic. It focuses on triumph in God's will! Here are some things I didn't know:

The scripture associated with it in my hymnal is Isaiah 6:1: "I have seen The Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted."

It was written in November 1861 by a woman (yea! Pretty tough words for a lady) named Julia Ward Howe. The tune is a folk song written during the Civil War, "John Brown's Body." The song connects the judgment of God at the end of time with the American Civil War. Some scriptures in the song (there are many) are Isaiah 27:1 "terrible swift sword," Revelation 19:15 "the Word of God wields a sharp sword," Daniel 5:15 "writing on the wall," Genesis 3:15 Eve's descendants crushing the serpent and on and on.

This patriotic hymn is sung traditionally in many ways. Often it is sung at national political conventions before references to God became controversial, and at presidential inaugurations. It was one of Winston Churchill's favorite songs and was sung at his funeral in 1965. Notably it was played on September 14, 2001 at the Washington National Cathedral during the memorial services for the victims of the September 11 attacks. Popularly many groups and individuals have sung it. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir won a Grammy award for singing it in 1960. Judy Garland sang it on her television show in 1963, as an honor to JFK after his assassination. Andy Williams sang it a capella in 1968 at Robert Kennedy's funeral. Whitney Houston performed it at her "Welcome Home Heroes" concert in 1991. Let's just say this beautiful song has quite a history!

Phrases meaningful to me are "glory of the coming of The Lord," "He is sifting out the hearts' of men before His judgment seat," "in the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea," "glory that transfigures you and me," "let us live to make men free!" And the best: "He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave, the world shall be His footstool and the soul of wrong His slave, Our God is marching on!"

I shared a link above this post to a remarkable video if you want to hear it sung grandly! I'm also looking for Whitney to link, too.

Pray:

* Let us praise you today, Majestic God!

* Father, give us full hearts to sing of Your Glory and deliverance.

* Heavenly Father, keep our focus on the eternal and our trust in You alone for all our needs.

 Amen