Another reason to eschew
CCM in preference to your garden variety hymn of yesteryear:
Lead on, O King eternal,
The day of march has come;
Henceforth in fields of conquest
Thy tents shall be our home.
Through days of preparation
Thy grace has made us strong;
And now, O King eternal,
We lift our battle song.
Lead on, O King eternal,
Till sin’s fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper
The sweet amen of peace.
For not with swords’ loud clashing,
Nor roll of stirring drums;
With deeds of love and mercy
The heavenly kingdom comes.
Lead on, O King eternal,
We follow, not with fears,
For gladness breaks like morning
Where’er Thy face appears.
Thy cross is lifted over us,
We journey in its light;
The crown awaits the conquest;
Lead on, O God of might.
6 comments:
Hmmm. This reminds me of a (CCM) song on a CD that #1 got from VBS last year (a different church), which I had been discussing with T that it is dangerously unscriptural. The chorus goes: Lead us, Jesus; you are our God, we trust in you.
My argument is that it is extremely presumptuous to call on God to lead us. Undoubtedly he has already taken the lead (while we were yet enemies), and has been waiting for us to follow.
Another feature of this catchy little ditty is that when it says you are our God, it really seems to be saying, "Ok, we've all gotten together and made a democratic decision. Good news! By a vote of 76%, we have chosen you as our God. Congratulations! Now for the instatement ceremony; all together now, Lead us, Jesus; you are our God, we trust in you."
To be fair, however, your text does not seem to carry the same connotation. Perhaps because it comes not from a consumer-driven (what shall I choose?) mentality, but a more ancient God-centered mentality
Reminds me of another line written by a pretty good songwriter...
"For the sake of your name lead and guide me"
Ps 31:3
Which is now in hymn books as "Lead me, guide me along the way,
For if you lead me I cannot stray.
Lord let me walk each day with Thee.
Lead me, oh Lord lead me." written by my friend and former piano tuning customer, Doris Akers. One of the great tunes of all time.
You should hear me play it on the harmonica!!!
Lead On Oh King Eternal or Lead Me, Guide Me. I think I can guess which one.
We played it together at your house. I think I am responsible for you even knowing about the song, and that the composer was on of your customers.
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