Mansions of the Lord

He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth;
he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder;
he burneth the chariot in the fire. ~ Psalms 46:9

Tomorrow, May 28, is Memorial Day in the United States. On this day we remember and honor those men and women in the Armed Forces who gave their lives in service to our country. Today, for those who have never lost a close relative or friend serving in the military, Memorial Day seems to mean little more than an extra day off from work and an occasion for picnics and used car sales. But for those who have borne such a loss, or who have simply made it their business to honor our fallen heroes and support their families, Memorial Day is a profoundly moving time.

But not always a somber, wretched time. Perhaps because Memorial Day falls in the fullest flower of spring, it has always cast for me a ray of light and hope, just behind the dark wall of painful remembrance. As a child I would go with my grandmother every "Decoration Day"--as it was then called--to the cemetery behind our family's church, where we laid a pot of flowers at my long-departed grandfather's grave and with Grandma would say a brief, silent prayer. I recall it as always being sunny and warm. All the veterans' graves were adorned with colorful flags. Yes, we often had a family picnic too, but it was always preceded by that quiet remembrance.

This bonding of grief and hope, sadness and peace is reflected in a moving contemporary hymn to fallen servicemen called Mansions of the Lord. The text was composed by Christian songwriter, screenwriter, and director Randall Wallace, and the music by English film score composer Nick Glennie-Smith.It was sung by the U.S. Military Academy Glee Club during the closing credits of the 2002 film We Were Soldiers, which chronicled the November 1965 Battle of Ia Drang in Viet Nam. The hymn also served as the recessional in the 2004 funeral of President Ronald Reagan.

  

 Randall Wallace and Nick Glennie-Smith

The text consists of three short stanzas that dwell not on war and death, but on the eternal peace of Heaven--the "Mansions of the Lord"--to which a fallen soldier (or sailor or airman) is commended by his comrades, who promise to stand guard and remember him always. The hymn reminds us that in that blessed place there is no more war, no fear or pain, no anguish or loss--just "divine embrace, eternal light." The music is likewise simple, dignified, and uplifting, and reinforces the text's message of hope (as the hymn is not in the public domain the sheet music can't be reproduced here, but if you'd like to view and download it for a fee, click here).

To fallen soldiers let us sing,
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing,
Our broken brothers let us bring
To the Mansions of the Lord.

No more bleeding, no more fight,
No prayers pleading through the night,
Just divine embrace, eternal light
In the Mansions of the Lord.

Where no mothers cry and no children weep,
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep,
All through the ages safely keep
The Mansions of the Lord.

  Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Washington, DC, USA

The presentation below is the original version of the hymn sung in We Were Soldiers by the Cadet Glee Club of West Point, along with a stirring orchestration and a moving video tribute to fallen warriors and their families:



You'll notice that this presentation includes a solo voice portion not part of the hymn itself, excerpted from the lament "Sgt. MacKenzie" by Joseph Kilna MacKenzie, as sung in a Scottish dialect and with a "translation" to standard English:

Lay me doon in the caul caul groon
Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun
Lay me doon in the caul caul groon
Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun

Ains a year say a prayer faur me
Close yir een an remember me
    *****
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone

Once a year say a prayer for me
Close your eyes and remember me

 Below is another presentation, also sung (I believe) by the Cadet Glee Club but without orchestration--except for a very poignant bugle introduction--and is accompanied by another very moving video.



The video below presents the Cadet Glee Club itself performing Mansions of the Lord, with an introduction that provides some very thought-provoking information on just how many men and women have given their lives in America's service in the last hundred years:



War, though sometimes necessary in the defense of truth, justice, and national survival, is perhaps the greatest scourge in human experience. The believer--especially the believing soldier and his or her family--longs and prays for the day when war and conflict are no more, and we rejoice eternally, together, in the presence of our Savior and Heavenly Father.  It is this hope that we share with departed loved ones, and which, perhaps, inspired these beautiful passages from Scripture:

[T]hey shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore. ~ Isaiah 2:4

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away. ~ Revelation 21:4

May the soldiers, sailors, and airmen of today live to see it,
and lock arms with their departed comrades once more.

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

As the story goes, one day in 1887 Anthony J. Showalter (1858-1924), a Presbyterian elder and principal of a music school in Dalton, Georgia, was leading a singing school in a local church in Hartselle, Alabama. After dismissing the class for the evening, he returned to his boardinghouse and found that two letters had arrived, both from former students of his. And each had recently suffered the same heartbreaking loss, the death of his wife. Seeking to comfort them, Showalter wrote back to the young men and included this passage from Deuteronomy 33:27: "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms . . ."  Reflecting on these words, Showalter thought of a simple stanza: "Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; Leaning, Leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms." After finishing the letters, Showalter wrote another to his friend, Presbyterian minister and hymnist Elisha Albright Hoffman (1839-1929), saying, "Here is the chorus for a good hymn from Deuteronomy 33:27, but I can't come up with any verses."  Hoffman obligingly wrote three stanzas and sent them back to his friend in Dalton. Showalter (or, perhaps his nephew Sam E. Duncan) then set the text to music, and published it later that year in the hymnal Glad Evangel for Revival, Camp, and Evangelistic Meetings. The result was one of America's most beloved gospel songs, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

Anthony J. Showalter and Elisha A. Hoffman

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

In the simplest yet sweetest terms possible, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms expresses the inner peace and sense of safety that the believer enjoys. Even in the gravest trouble and the deepest grief, we know that the Lord is near ("I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13:5));He is "with [us] always, even unto the end of the world." (Matthew 28:20)  With faith in Him, we need never fear for our souls or for the endless life with Him that we have been promised. Just as Anthony Showalter reminded his grieving friends, we have our Eternal God for a refuge, and are upheld by His everlasting arms! (for perhaps the most complete and compelling expression of these wonderful truths, see Psalm 91)

You can still visit the place where Leaning on the Everlasting Arms was, according to local folks, first sung in public: the 1850s-vintage Old Stone Church in Ringgold, Georgia--just a few miles south of where I used to live in Chattanooga, Tennessee (and where Anthony Showalter passed away in 1924). They say that Mr. Showalter led singing in the church twice a month while its pastor was away in Dalton; one Sunday after services he was invited home for lunch by one of the church members, and while there put the finishing touches on the song, which the Ringgold congregation debuted that evening. Watch the video below for the full story:



From a review of the available video rendition, it appears that Leaning on the Everlasting Arms is usually sung at a very sprightly tempo--perhaps in keeping with its positive, happy message. Here is a version by an unidentified church congregation, performed at the song's normal rhythm:



I prefer a more stately, heartfelt rendition, which keeps the song's message of perfect hope and joy, while infusing it with a greater reverence. Here is one by the great Mahalia Jackson:



But my favorite is the rendition by American folk singer Iris DeMent, which served as the underlying musical theme and closing number in the 2010 Western film True Grit. In my opinion, no version better captures the simple earnestness and peaceful assurance that the text conveys. The video below features Ms. DeMent's singing, along with beautiful country scenes and images of the Savior.



May you feel the Lord's arms enfolding you and bearing you up every moment of every day!

Listen to me . . .
you who have been borne by me
from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.

~  Isaiah 46:3-4 (ESV)