ORSBORNAGAIN (4)
A devotional series by Major Rob Birks
ORSBORNAGAIN is meant to introduce the poetry of the first Poet General, Albert Orsborn (1886-1967) to a new audience and to reintroduce his works to dyed-in-the-(tropical)-wool Salvationists.
These are not new songs.
However, the lyrics are jam-packed with new life, which may be missed during corporate worship. Re-examined through scripture and experience, Rob Birks intends through an examination of these scared songs to renew the spiritual fervor of believers, and point seekers to their Savior.
Here’s the piano music to the song below:
Yet once again, by God’s abundant mercy,
We join our song of thankfulness and praise;
Ever the light of our redeemer’s victory
Shineth before us in the world’s dark ways.
Jesus shall conquer, lift up the strain!
Evil shall perish and righteousness shall reign.
O for the time of Christ’s completed mission!
Throbs of its rapture reach us as we pray;
Gleams of its glory bursting on our vision
Speed us to labor, urge us on our way.
Stretch out thy hand, O God, and the let the nations
Feel through thine host the thrill of life divine;
Grant us, we pray, still greater revelations,
Make of these days and everlasting sign.
Albert Orsborn
349 – Our response to God – Worship – meeting together
Susan and Lucy followed Aslan and witnessed the brutality and horror of his death. Just when things seemed hopeful for them and for all living under the curse in Narnia, the evil Witch killed the King. The two girls grieved the loss of their friend and fearless leader. At some point after dawn, a deafening noise caught the attention of the girls. The Stone Table was cracked in two pieces. The lion’s body was gone. The girls asked each other who had done it, and what it all meant. Then an audible, familiar voice answered their questions. The girls saw the resurrected Aslan standing before them, larger than they remembered him:
“Oh, Aslan!” cried both the children, staring up at him, almost as much frightened as they were glad…….
“But what does it all mean?” asked Susan when they were somewhat calmer.
“It means,” said Aslan, ‘that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward” (excerpt from C.C. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe).
This scene has captured the imagination of millions of readers since C.S. Lewis first dreamed it up way back in 1950 (right in the middle of Orsborn’s eight-year term as leader of the international Salvation Army). For Christians, of course, these words are far from fiction. They are filled with truth and hope and life. They remind us that even though things look grim, God is not dead! Even though evil seems to reign, righteousness will win out! Even though evil rulers kill the innocent, life lives eternally. We have hope because “the light of our redeemer’s victory shineth before us in the world’s dark ways.”
As the second line states, this is a song of “thankfulness and praise.” It’s not an ode to escapism. No way! The very fact that this is a victory song implies that there is a war going on. Union Army General William T. Sherman was spot on when he said, “War is hell.” It is! The “world’s dark ways” are ever-present, and seem to be ever-increasing. But true to form, Orsborn is quick to recognize for himself and remind his readers just who it is that brings victory: “Jesus shall conquer, lift up the strain! /Evil shall perish and righteousness shall reign.” And the victory Jesus won is not for one person, but for all people. His righteous reign gives hope not just to one nation, but to all nations who feel “the thrill of life divine” offered by the outstretched hand of God.
This song used to be found in the “Kingdom” section of The Salvation army Song Book (SASB). When Jesus taught his first and 21st century followers to pray, he began with: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:9) This world is under a curse, no doubt! However, there is an already and not yet kingdom where righteousness, not evil, rules. That kingdom will be fully realized at “the time of Christ’s completed mission.” We are citizens there. We should act like it here. Let’s allow the hope of the “deeper magic” of the resurrected Christ, the complete victory obtained and offered by the “willing victim who had committed no treachery,” prove more then enough inspiration to “speed us to labor, urge us on our way.”
Here’s to greater revelations, everlasting signs, perishing evil, broken tables, and melting curses.