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 ESVJob 1:21 [21]And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (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 the 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 You give and take away, you give and take away My heart will choose to say, 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 Martin Layzell’s "King Jesus I Believe," based in part on Luke 4:18Luke 4:18 [18]"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

This text is from the ESV Bible. Visit www.esv.org to learn about the ESV.

. It affirms our need to "weep with those who weep" ( Rom. 12:15Romans 12:15 [15]Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (ESV)

This text is from the ESV Bible. Visit www.esv.org to learn about the ESV.

) 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 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.

5 Comments »

1. 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!

   Comment by Bob Kauflin — November 17, 2005 @ 6:55 am

2. 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.

   Comment by Steve McCoy — November 17, 2005 @ 10:12 am

3. 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.

   Comment by Travis Seitler — November 17, 2005 @ 1:05 pm

4. 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 ;-).

   Comment by marc — November 20, 2005 @ 11:46 pm

5. 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!

   Comment by Steve Baumgartner — December 2, 2005 @ 11:44 pm

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