Wisely written worship songs give us words that express faith in God in the midst of tragedy, loss, and crisis. Job expressed it like this: The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21 ESV)
When we lose all we have, God still deserves our worship. Matt and Beth Redman have put that truth to music in their well-known song “Blessed Be Your Name.”
Blessed Be Your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
Blessed Be Your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be Your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s ‘all as it should be’
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name
By Matt & Beth Redman. Copyright 2002 Kingsway’s Thankyou Music/PRS/All right admin. by EMI Music Publishing.
Another song to sing during difficult seasons is Martyn Layzell’s “King Jesus I Believe,” based in part on Luke 4:18. It affirms our need to “weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15) and expresses a desire to see God’s will done and to remain dependent on His promises. It’s from the CD Lost in Wonder.
King Jesus I Believe:
King Jesus I believe the words of life You breathe
You’ve spoken promises, a guiding light for our feet
We fall down to our knees
And weep with those who weep
Let justice flow upon this earth
A never failing stream
I’m thirsty, longing just to see Your kingdom come
Praying that today Your love is shown
I’m thirsty for the will of God to be made known
Praying for the day of Your return
You have anointed us to bind the broken heart
Proclaim deliverance for those enslaved in the dark
You pour the oil of joy all over my despair
O Spirit of the Sovereign Lord Empower us once again
We pray, we pray, we seek Your face
We pray, we seek Your face
By Martyn Layzell. Copyright 2000 Thankyou Music. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
It’s impossible to predict when our world will fall apart, when we’ll experience great loss, or when sorrow will overwhelm us. But God gives us songs to sing even in the bleakest of times, for we know that our Redeemer lives, and that nothing can separate us from His love. What songs does your church sing in the hard times? What congregational worship songs help you acknowledge your weakness and put your trust in God’s sovereign care? Let us know.
(Read part 2 here)
Allow me to be the first to comment on my own post…
Steve McCoy kindly sent me the following e-mail:
“I would request that you consider opening up your blog for comments. I know you have probably been advised to not allow for comments, but it’s the reason blogging is blogging. It’s getting people to think and talk through what you say and not just read and move on.”
Great point, Steve. I have indeed been advised NOT to include comments, but I’ve had others, like you, say I should. Soooo, I’ll be inviting comments on certain posts. Kind of a compromise to see how it goes. But hey, feel free to e-mail me any time!
Great to see the comments open up a bit. Thanks.
We still turn to “It Is Well With My Soul”, and the version I like is by The Village Church.
Well, thank you for allowing (even limited) comments!
I also want to thank you for this “Songs for the Hard Times” series. Blessed Be Your Name has indeed been a blessing to me in those dark times.
Still, Psalm 137 is Scripture, yet I know of no contemporary equivalent. Sometimes I think we Westerners have far to go in our understanding of Godly mourning.
Hey Bob,
It’s Marc Heinrich from BBC in MPLS. Great to see your blog up. As you know your ministry has meant alot to us at bethlehem (we did a couple of your songs this morning as a matter of fact).
I have to agree with Steve on the Comment issue. I think a blog without comments is simply a webpage that looks like a blog. Open her up and let her fly!!! You won’t regret it… okay maybe, sometimes you’ll regret it.
BTW, next time your stuck at the airport here, call me… we live in a much nicer neighborhood than Chuck ;-).
In the hard times, songs of the Father’s faithfulness have been very helpful. “He’s Always Been Faithful”, by Sara Groves, and “Mercies Anew”, by Mark Altrogge and Bob Kauflin, are two that we have been singing regularly in our small group, and with the whole church. Rich and comforting, with an eye towards future grace!
I recently lost my sister, my best friend in the world, to cancer, so i know what it’s like to go through hard times. “what faith can do” by kutless. it was played at my sister’s funeral. Just listen to the words. they’re amazing!