Hallelujah Chorus, Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir/Bonhoeffer

"In New York they preach about virtually everything, only one thing is not addressed, or is addressed so rarely that I have as yet been unable to hear it, namely, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the cross, sin and forgiveness, death and life." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ~1930

"[The Union seminary students] talk a blue streak without slightest substantive foundation, and with no evidence of any criteria...they are unfamiliar with even the most basic questions. They become intoxicated with liberal and humanistic phrases, laugh at the fundamentalists..."
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ~1930

One of the greatest influences on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's adult life was a visit to the Abyssinian Baptist Church in the Harlem district of New York City. He had come to the U.S. from pre- WWII Germany seeking to find an 'alive church'. "Bonhoeffer had no idea what he was walking into at the Union Seminary, but the bloody battle royale between the liberals and the fundamentals was in full swing in 1930...One notable exception, however, was in the 'negro churches'." There in the distressed African American community, Dietrich would see the full power of the Word of God manifested under the preaching of Pastor Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, continues, "Starving from the skim milk at Union (seminary), Bonhoeffer found a theological feast in this N.Y. African American church that spared nothing." (see Now Let Us Come Before Him and The Mark Of A Man, Jan 2011, for more on Bonhoeffer's life)

1965 photo - 25 years after Bonhoeffer's 6 month in New York

What you will hear below is much like the music Bonhoeffer experienced and loved. My husband and I heard the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir back in the early days of my coming to faith in Jesus (80s). We were impressed with the teaching of the Word and the powerful singing! It went deep, bringing a longing to be filled with the joy of God from the inside out! This may not be your style or cultural background, but if you don't find yourself joining in on the worship, your kindling may be wet! If you love Handel's Messiah, as I do, this should be great fun.


Lyrics:

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
And hath redeemed us to God by His blood
To receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
Wo-o-o-o-rthy
And hath redeemed us to God by His blood

Men:
Blessing, honor, glory, and power be unto Him, be unto Him
That seated upon the throne
And to the Lamb

All:
Blessing, honor, glory, and power be unto Him, be unto Him
That seated upon the throne

Men:
O That seated upon the throne
All:
That seated upon the throne
Men:
Blessing, honor, glory, and power be unto

All:
The Lamb

Solo: Ha -
All: Blessing and honor
Solo: Lelujah
All: Blessing honor and power
Solo: Ha aaaaaaaaaa
All: Wisdom and strength and glory

Solo: Lelujah

All; Hallelujah Hallelu

Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah [2x]

Men: For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Halle halle
Hallelujah

For the Lord God omnipotent r-e-i-gneth
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, halle – e- e- lujah
The kingdom of our Lord
And of his Christ [X2]
And He shall reign for ever and ever [2X]

Solo: King of Kings
All: for ever and ever, hallelujah hallelujah
Solo: and Lord of Lords
All: For ever and ever
Solo: King of Kings
All: For ever and ever, hallelujah hallelujah
Solo: Lord of Lords
All: For ever and ever
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Solo: King of Kings
All:For ever and ever,
Solo: Lord of Lords
All: For ever and ever
Hallelujah

Halle – lu jah

Supporting Scriptures:
"Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain!”Revelations 5: 11-12

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"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice,
“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying,
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Revelations 7:9-12
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"Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” Revelations 11:15

The Mark Of A Man Of God, Steve Camp/Bonhoeffer

Today's music is about great men of God, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer can be counted among them. He is one of my heroes. He worked tirelessly to rouse the dead and dying church in Germany, and finally went abroad to America to raise the alarm, and hopefully, find a believing community.You will be swept away by the timeliness of Eric Metaxas' book Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. It reveals the courage, wisdom, and selflessness of this man of God as well as his courtship. He warned the world then, and he is warning us again through his life's work. Let us take heed in light of where we are as a lethargic church and morally bankrupt nation today!

Hitler leaving the Marine Church in Wilhelmshaven, 1931. It was a picture widely used in Nazi propaganda. Many in the church who had supported the church's embrace of Nazism realized too late that the Nazi support of morality and Christianity was a very thin facade indeed.

Singer/songwriter Steve Camp's The Mark Of A Man Of God is complimented with photos of the great heroes of the church. It describes exactly how Bonhoeffer lived his short life.We need fathers, husbands, and sons to "brace up like a man." Job 40:7 (see Job Suite by Michael Card/Dec 2010). I especially love the words of the TAG at the end of the lyrics!
Lyrics:
A godly man is such a rarity today So many start, strong and true, and quickly fall away - A godly man will take his stand he can't be bought or sold - Hand to the plow, he won't look back though other hearts turn cold - He keeps the faith and keeps his conscience clear He lives this life of grace through all his years

chorus:
The mark of a man of God is what he's faithful to,
and what he's fleeing from and what he's fighting for -
the heart of a man of God is what he daily pursues,
his family, friends, the Word, the church and worship of the Lord -
The godly man daily takes up the cross of Christ
and faithfully follows Him as a living sacrifice.
He’s not ashamed of the gospel, his sufficiency's in Christ
The power of integrity is the passion of his life
Instead of reckless faith, he has proven that his faith works
The ultimate priority, the Master's plan for the church
Saved without a doubt because his first love is the Lord
And the gospel according to Jesus is the truth he would die for

(chorus)

Bridge He lives his life to teach the Word, in season and in not
For he fears more than any man, the approval of his God
He lovingly, yet firmly leads those placed within his care
The power of his ministry is that he is a man of prayer

(chorus)

Tag The godly man takes a young Timothy like me and teaches me to run the race to carry on this life of grace He sets the mark and we keep the pace with this man of God.

Supporting Scriptures:
"The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away." Matthew 13:20-21

"Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9: 62

"Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Matthew 10: 38-39

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service." Romans 12:1

"Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching." 2 Timothy 4:2

"Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body." 1 Corinthians 6:18

Now Let Us Come Before Him/Bonhoeffer

I am reading the New York Times bestseller Bonhoeffer:Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy--A Righteous Gentile vs. the Third Reich by Eric Metaxas. I can hardly put it down! Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a very exciting figure to many people in light of how he lived and died for his convictions in attempts to dismantle the Third Reich from the inside. He was a great man of faith in Jesus Christ and determined to live radically in the will of God--even to the point of death.

Metaxas explores how the 'church of Luther' had shockingly weakened so much that it had capitulated to Hitler by the 1930s. How did it get to such a state? The true gospel (summed up by Bonhoeffer as 'costly grace') had gradually been perverted and replaced by 'cheap grace'. This is that there is a kind, jolly God who just loves and forgives everyone, so it doesn't matter how one lives. Legalism also grew and meant that God loved you because you were disciplined and pulled yourself together, living a good life.

While just a boy of thirteen, Dietrich's brother Walter was killed fighting for Germany in WWI. It devastated the whole family, but it served to mold Dietrich into the man he would become. His mother was a capable woman deeply in love with her husband, her family, and her Savior. She frequently lead singing in their home. That last evening of the year, 1918-19, they sang Paul Gerhardt's New Year's Eve hymn "Now let us go singing and praying, and stand before our Lord, Who has given our life strength until now." His family and his times readied him to stand up to incredible evil with a passion for Truth and a commitment for justice on behalf of those who were targeted by this evil, the Jews.NetHymnal is a great site to obtain the history of thousands of hymns, ancient and recent, including Now Let Us Come Before Him which the Bonhoeffers sang that night... The link is http://nethymnal.org/htm/l/nlucbhim.htm You can immediately hear the melody and see the lyrics. It was put into English in 1867, but the Bonhoeffers would have sung it in the old German text of Gerhardt.

Paul Gerhardt--1653

Lyrics:
Now let us come before Him,
With song and prayer adore Him,
Who to our life hath given
All needed strength from Heaven.

The stream of years is flowing,
And we are onward going,
From old to new surviving
And by His mercy thriving.

In woe we often languish
And pass through times of anguish
Of wars and trepidation
Alarming every nation.

As mothers watch are keeping
O’er children who are sleeping,
Their fear and grief assuaging
When angry storms are waging.

So God His own is shielding
And help to them is yielding.
When need and woe distress them,
His loving arms caress them.

O Thou Who dost not slumber,
Remove what would encumber
Our work, which prospers never
Unless Thou bless it ever.

O God of mercy, hear us;
Our Father, be Thou near us;
Mid crosses and in sadness
Be Thou our Fount of gladness.

Supporting Scriptures: This video of Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing contains the entire 91st Psalm in text. (music only in a fantastic arrangement by Paul Cardall, pianist)

"Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." Psalm 121:4
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"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8: 33-39

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"The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers." Deuteronomy 30:9

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"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth." Hebrews 11:13