Spirit of 1776

Battle Hymn of the Republic

Revelation 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Commentary

On the eve of President Trump’s inauguration, there was an event at the Lincoln Memorial. I did not watch this happening live, but yesterday I watched it. This event deeply touched me, even to tears. The military band sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic, and it brought kind of a healing to me. I felt the great Civil War hymn which so honored the Lord along with the current setting, which really restored me. When hearing the hymn, I realized just how much battling the Hard Left all of these years had drained part of me. I sense now that God has restored me and renewed me to stand for the Lord and engage the reprobate mind with more power.

I vividly remember the impact the “Battle Hymn” had on me, when I was a 17 year old. I was watching the funeral of Winston Churchill taking place at Westminster Abby. During the ceremony, the Battle Hymn of the Republic was sung which amazed me, that such an American hymn would be sung at his funeral. The singing of the hymn on this occasion really impacted me to this day.

It turns out that Churchill loved America and the Americans loved him. He was a great historian of the American Civil War, and this is why the “Battle Hymn” was so important to him. His mother was an American. He is only one of eight people to be granted honorary American citizenship by an Act of Congress! In 1995 a US Destroyer was named the USS Winston S. Churchill.

The “Battle Hymn” was written in December 1861 by Julia Ward Howe as she walked through the Union Army, which was camped outside Washington. While sleeping that night, she was awakened with the lyrics flowing through her mind. It was published in 1862. When President Abraham Lincoln heard it, he was so touched that he cried. It became the theme song of the North.

One oddity is that the tune was written in 1856 by William Steffe from South Carolina! So the “Battle Hymn” is a mixture of the North and South which makes it so fitting for the United States. What a hymn that blends the history of the Civil War with awesome Christian doctrine. I so hope that you will be as blessed as I was by this rendition: The Battle Hymn of the Republic

I’ve posted the complete lyrics because the entire song seldom is sung. I did this because I want you to see just how deeply this song resonates with the Lord. There is deep, and even majestic meaning in it to honor God.

American Politics/ History

This is my favorite lyric:
“In the beauty of the lilies
Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom
that transfigures you and me,
As He died to make men holy
let us live to make men free,
His truth is marching on”

The complete lyrics follow:
“Mine eyes have seen the glory
of the coming of the lord,
He is trampling out the vintage
where the grapes of wrath are stored,
He hath loosed the fateful lightning
of His terrible swift sword,
His truth is marching on

Glory! Glory ! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah
Glory! Glory ! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on

I have seen Him in the watch fires
of a hundred circling camps,
They have builded Him an altar
in the evening dews and damps,
I can read his righteous sentence
in the dim and flaring lamps,
His day is marching on

Glory! Glory ! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah
Glory! Glory ! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on

I have read a fiery Gospel
writ in burnished rows of steel,
“As ye deal with My contemners
so with you My grace shall deal,”
Let the Hero born of woman
crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on

Glory! Glory ! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah
Glory! Glory ! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on

He has sounded forth the trumpet
that shall never call retreat,
He is sifting out the hearts of men
before His judgment seat,
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him!
Be jubilant, my feet,
Our God is marching on

Glory! Glory ! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah
Glory! Glory ! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on

In the beauty of the lilies
Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom
that transfigures you and me,
As He died to make men holy
let us live to make men free,
His truth is marching on

Glory! Glory ! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah
Glory! Glory ! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on”