Joy! joy! joy! there is joy in The Salvation Army,
Joy! joy! joy! in the Army of the Lord.
Sing to God, sing to God, with loud joyful songs of praise;
Beat the drums, beat the drums, while salvation music plays.
Play the music, play, sing the happy song,
Loud hosannas shout with the happy throng,
To the happy land we'll march along,
And be joyful all the way.
What a great chorus this is! Simple but to the point! I remember singing this as a young man in our Salvation Army meetings many years ago. Our Corps was a simple storefront, but our soldiers sang as if they were in the greatest cathedral. I remember the band loudly punctuating the words, 'Joy, Joy, Joy!' We may still hear this chorus sung from time to time. The words of the chorus speak to what should be a real experience for all of those following Jesus Christ whether they are in The Salvation Army or not!
Sing to God with loud and joyful songs of praise! Beat the drum (literally or figuratively) while salvation music plays! To the happy land we'll march along and be joyful all the way!
This level of joy and happiness is contagious. It attracts all of those who are exposed to it. It portrays something of a reckless abandon in our faith and a willingness to be as little children as we allow our happiness to spread througout our being then out to all those around us.
Oh!, Christian friend...never lose the joy! Do not let anyone rob you of it!
There is, and always will be, joy in following Jesus!
Hi Gary
ReplyDeleteI always struggled with this song, and the others that we use where the words refer directly to our Movement.
Are we the only denomination that sings songs about ourselves?
Yes, we most likely are. However, those songs are all in the context of our Christian service. It can go over the top when it translates into 'Army worship', that is never a good thing. To the extent they rally the troops for Christian service I don't have an issue with them.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Johnny. I appreciate your comment.