There exists the notion that victory speaks only of joy, peace, love, rest in their counterfeit forms, the wishy-washy, mushy-gushy kind that has no place in reality. This song expresses the reality. There is war before victory. With war comes bloodshed, hard times, threatenings, loss and destruction, but the victory is there in real terms, earned and established by the Lord.
We wash our feet in the blood of our enemies;
Not in vain have we believed for our victories;
Though the trek has been long and full of miseries,
Still the worth has been there all the time.
CHORUS:
We are crowned with the helmet of His glory,
Our scabbard filled with the power of His Word;
Though the battle is bloody and gory,
His life He gives by the good news which is heard.
Not in vengeance nor in spite do we revel;
We wrestle not with flesh and blood but the devil;
We fill the valleys and the mountains we do level;
Our goal is righteousness and peace in all the earth.
There was a time when on our backs all men did trample,
At times unbearable if only but a sample,
But His grace He gave to us was more than ample;
He is the Captain of the hosts and our Lord.
Let the powers of Hell advance and do their utmost.
Here on earth we will stand guard at our outpost.
Standing for us, all around us is the Lord’s host;
There is nothing in this whole world to fear.
Lethbridge, AB; February 12, 1985
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While I called this song the above name 20 years ago, I would not do so now. The power of Jesus as the Pentecostal circles like to call it is nothing less than Christ in us, the hope of glory. His Spirit we receive not while seeking power but while seeking to do His will in reality and not as we perceive it.
In Winnipeg, we met Henry Unrau, who laboured dreadfully under the Law, thinking he was doing God service. He was a tormented soul but a very self-righteous one who, while seeking counsel and help, quite believed that he was in a position of counseling and helping instead toward those who were not enslaved by service of the letter as was he. What ironies and contradictions in man!
On August 22nd, 2017, in our Moon River Estates home, I awoke having received the first 2 lines of this song. Later, at the computer, I began to amuse myself with the rest of the words, while Marilyn stood by thinking I was being silly. I was but I wasn't. Words quickly and smoothly came forth to express the present theme of my life that was unfolding beyond my understanding. Call it inspiration. Now, what about a tune? Would it take long, as it has with some other songs? I took up my guitar, went to D, then E, G, and A, timing the words with the chords. I partly but naturally adopted a kind of nasal, aged voice by the spirit of the song, which Marilyn also had questions about but I loved it to tears and here it is. I call it Take Two, being accustomed to recording my songs, doing retakes, sometimes far more often than once. Here I was with lyrics suggesting I was having the privilege of a retake on life. I must say I've had many regrets about the wrongs, failures, and foolish mistakes I've made in my life. I'm well aware that others have learned important things early in life, gathering wisdom and understanding in early age well beyond mine now in my seventies. I've wondered if there was such a thing as reincarnation after all and that I had a life or two to live before I attained to the understanding others have had almost out of the womb. This song promises much ...