a Negro Spiritual Devotion 13 July 2021 Anno domini,
The Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? 9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, 10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, 11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?” (Job 38:4-11)
Job was made speechless at the inquiries of the Lord. Could you have answered better? Where were the evolutionists when God laid the foundation of the world? They seem to know so much but cannot answer for the First Cause. Where were the climate change experts who can foretell, with seeming assurance, that climate change will end civilization in a matter of a decade, yet, cannot forecast with certainty whether it will rain tomorrow or not?
Today’s hymn is more of a Gospel song than a hymn. It is born of the deep soul and soil of the oppressed. It is amazingly simple, yet speaks hauntingly to the soul. It supposedly brought the heroic Sergeant Alvin York of World War One fame to the Throne of Grace. There is no known author other than the Lord Himself whose spirit must have whispered the lyrics and tune to those in bondage under the hot suns of the South.
THIS OLD TIME RELIGION
Refrain:
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
It’s good enough for me.
1 It was good for Paul and Silas,
It was good for Paul and Silas,
It was good for Paul and Silas,
It’s good enough for me. [Refrain]
2 It was good for the Hebrew children,
It was good for the Hebrew children,
It was good for the Hebrew children,
It’s good enough for me. [Refrain]
3 It was good for our mothers,
It was good for our mothers,
It was good for our mothers,
It’s good enough for me. [Refrain]
4 Makes me love ev’rybody,
Makes me love ev’rybody,
Makes me love ev’rybody,
It’s good enough for me. [Refrain]
1 It was good for Paul and Silas, It was good for Paul and Silas, It was good for Paul and Silas, It’s good enough for me. [Refrain] No matter how out-of-tune with modern society it may become, Truth and Righteousness never changes. Neither does the author of Truth and Righteousness. The ideas and lifestyles of either Paul or Silas might seem very passé for our age, but that old-time religion that they both professed is not time-dated. Sexual morality, honest, gentleness, fidelity – all these are fresh fruits from the same tree of time. They practiced biblical morality and the counsel of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Is this religion STILL good enough for you, friend?
2 It was good for the Hebrew children, It was good for the Hebrew children, It was good for the Hebrew children, It’s good enough for me. [Refrain] It was the Rock of Horeb and the Pillar of Cloud by Day and the Pillar of Fire by night that both led and followed the Hebrew children throughout the Wilderness journey; and it is the same that will lead us in our own wilderness desolation in the world if we place our trust in Him. He is the Word Personified. That Word, despite attempts of so-called modern revisers, that remains unchanged from the moment it was thundered from the heights of Sinai, and whispered to the prophets of old.
3 It was good for our mothers, It was good for our mothers, It was good for our mothers, It’s good enough for me. [Refrain] The elevating influence of a Godly mother cannot be measured in terms of money, gold, or silver. A Godly mother molds her children by the Word of god and nurtures them up in that redeeming quality of God’s perfect Law of Liberty. The character of every child is first fashioned on mother’s knee. We all remember our mother’s teaching as children – perhaps even our first memories of all. When I was a mere toddler, my mother sang hymns all the day long as she went about her busy day. She also answered my interminable questions about life. As she once sat me on her knee, I asked her, “Where did I come from, mother?” She answered, “You came from God.” I believed her perfectly then, but as I grew into my teens, I began to suspect that she was not totally correct. As I learned more and more of God’s Word, I discovered that my mother was indeed correct to the fullest. All life is given by God, and so is all conception of children. It is for this reason that abortion is such a horrible sin in the eyes of God.
4 Makes me love ev’rybody, Makes me love ev’rybody, Makes me love ev’rybody, It’s good enough for me. [Refrain] Do you truly love God, friend. If so, how is it made possible for you to love such a Divine Being? In fact, without God there can be no love. God is the very Fountainhead of Love. We can only return, in small measure, the abundance of love with which He loved us in sending His only Begotten Son to redeem us by the shedding of His own blood at Golgotha. “We love him, because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) If a woman loves her husband, she must as well love the son of her husband. And then she must love all that her husband loves if her love is undivided for her husband. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20) How can we love God with undivided love and love not our brothers and sisters who likewise are His handiwork? “And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”
(1 John 4:18-21; all scripture quoted is from the King James Version)
REFRAIN:
Give me that old time religion, Give me that old time religion, Give me that old time religion, It’s good enough for me. Just like the old negro slaves, strong in spirit, who once sang this song in the fields of yore, we, too can sing the line repetitively, “Give me that old time religion; give me that old time religion; Give me that old time religion; Its good enough for me!”
“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. 11There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9-11)
But one thing we must remember: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.” (Ecclesiastes 12:1)
