There is nothing wrong with America that a return to her native songs would not fix. The moral and spiritual fabric of America was woven into eight deeply spiritual national and patriotic songs written between 1814 and 1918. First, there is our National Anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Celebrities, at the beginning of sporting events, have never sung the final stanza. It would be like a “bomb bursting in air” for them to sing, as Francis Scott Key wrote: “Blest with vict’ry and peace, May the heav’n-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.” That stanza ends with “And this be our motto – ‘In God is our trust!’”
In this “sweet land of liberty,” let us not forget the final stanza of Samuel F. Smith’s “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” (1831) in which God is exalted as the one true author of liberty and reigning King of our country. “Our fathers’ God, to Thee, Author of liberty, To Thee we sing: Long may our land be bright with freedom’s holy light; Protect us by Thy might, Great God, our King!”
Julia Ward Howe wrote “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” (1861) that opens with “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” The next stanza begins “I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps.” The third stanza says, “He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat” and ends with a triumphant “Our God is marching on!” The final stanza says, “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 die to make men free, While God is marching on!”
“Eternal Father, Strong to Save” has been The Navy Hymn since 1869. It begins, “Eternal Father, strong to save, Whose arm hath bound the restless wave, Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep, Its own appointed limits keep, O hear us when we cry to Thee, For those in peril on the sea!” The author, William White, devotes the next two stanzas to Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Then there is our National Hymn, “God of Our Fathers” (1876). Daniel C. Roberts speaks reverently of God’s almighty hand and implores us to make Him to be “our strong arm and sure defense.” Can you imagine the joy it would bring to God to hear citizens of this great country “singing with the spirit and the understanding” the second stanza? “Thy love divine hath led us in the past, In this free land by Thee our lot is cast, Be Thou our Ruler, Guardian, Guide and Stay, Thy word, our law; Thy paths our chosen way.”
One of our most beloved songs is “America the Beautiful” (1893). Katharine Lee Bates describes the natural beauty and wonders of America that we all enjoy and appreciate – spacious skies, amber waves of grain, purple mountain majesties, valor and visions of pilgrims’ feet, heroes proved in liberating strife, and patriot dreams. Three times, Bates calls upon all Americans to acknowledge Almighty God as the true source of blessing and bounty. (1) “America! America! God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.” (2) “America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law.” (3) “America! America! May God thy gold refine, Till all success be nobleness, And every gain divine.” I believe if all America would acknowledge God as the source of blessing, that her sin-blasted cities could become those gleaming “alabaster cities, undimmed by human tears.” In 1912, Henry Van Dyke wrote a wonderful song imploring God to “befriend” America. “O Lord, our God, Thy mighty hand hath made our country free; from all her broad and happy land may worship rise to Thee. Fulfill the promise of her youth, her liberty defend; By law and order, love and truth, America, America, befriend!”
Irving Berlin first wrote “God Bless America” in 1918 and then revised it in 1938. “God bless America, land that I love! Stand beside her, and guide her, through the night with a light from above. From the mountains to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam, God bless America, my home sweet home!” Since the terrorist attack on America in 2011, this song has been sung during the 7th inning stretch at every baseball game played in Yankee Stadium in New York.
Americans don’t sing much anymore. Many are too busy watching celebrities and wannabes sing on TV or just listening to worship teams dominating the singing at church. However, it does not have to be this way. We can turn things around. If schools and churches will not do it, you do it! Find some old songbooks that still contain the rich heritage of our nation and start singing. Teach these national treasures to your children and grandchildren.
