For God Alone: Singing the Songs of Zion

My daily walk-and-jog allows time for thinking. Recently, on one such walk/run, I recited the scripture from which the beloved hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness is taken:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

Every morning of every New Day brings a new beginning for which we are grateful to our Creator. We rise in the morning following the night’s sleep, and are greeted with sights and sounds in nature: blue skies, gentle breezes, and birds singing their various songs. If there is anything the human race needs at present, it is the hope of a brighter tomorrow.

Jesus offers strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow!

This New Day, I share three songs with you, to encourage you on your walk.

Years ago, singer/song writer, Ken Medema wrote a chorus called Every Day Is a Victory. It was originally recorded in 1975 during a live performance at Seventh and James Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, and was made into an album he (and Word Music) called People of the Son. In this recording, Ken tagged Every Day Is a Victory on the end of another song based on the story in which Peter and John heal a lame beggar. (Acts 3:1-10). I learned Ken’s song, which we might now call an early praise chorus, and have sung it, and led congregations to sing it countless times over the years.

Every day is a victory, every day is a victory,
Every day is a victory when you put it in the hands of the Lord.*

In May of 1998, at the end of a conference I was attending at Willow Creek Church in Illinois, one of the worship leaders stepped onto the stage and began leading us in a series of songs that included Fernando Ortega’s setting of Give Me Jesus.

In the morning when I rise, in the morning when I rise.
In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus, give me Jesus,
You can have all the rest, but give me Jesus.**

That Saturday morning as we sang Give Me Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God broke through this pilgrim’s heart of stone, and made of it a heart of flesh. I will never forget how God answered a prayer I had prayed for months. (Isaiah 57:15)

Songs like these help us on our respective spiritual journeys that begin with regeneration (discussed in yesterday’s A New Day), and continue with that process known as sanctification in which the Holy Spirit of God works in the Christian’s life, helping us to leave our sin behind, and walk into the new life in Christ. 

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20)

A brand new Easter hymn called Christ Our Hope in Life and Death (released today, Friday, March 20, 2020) was written by the amazing artistic team of Keith Getty, Matt Boswell, Jordan Kauflin, Matt Merker, and Matt Papa. Whether the Christian Church is gathered together in houses of worship this Resurrection Day (April 12), or, still scattered in houses across cities and countrysides, I predict many will be raising the roof singing this new hymn based on the Heidelberg Confession of 1563.

O, sing HALLELUJAH! Our hope springs eternal.
O, sing HALLELUJAH! Now and ever we confess: 
Christ, our hope in life and death!***

Friends, the songs we sing matter, for it is, in part, through these songs that our Christian faith is solidified into our hearts and minds. So, today, as you live for Jesus, sing a Song of Zion, offering your praise to the One who created us in His own image, redeemed us with His precious blood, and holds and securely keeps His children eternally for His glory and eternal worship.

 © Paul R. Magyar, DMA, 2020

*Every Day Is a Victory, Ken Medema, 1973, Word Music, Inc.

**Give Me Jesus, Fernanda Ortega, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rZ8k9m2hwo)

***Christ Our Hope in Life and Death, Words and Music by Keith Getty, Matt Boswell, Jordan Kauflin, Matt Merker, Matt Papa, © 2020 

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