Gospel Song – If We Ever Needed The Lord Before…

Gospel Song – If We Ever Needed The Lord Before, We Sure Do Need Him Now.

Thomas Dorsey, the “Father of Gospel Music,” composed this song in 1943. It has become a classic, sung by soloists, choirs, quartets, and various ensembles. It’s a snappy gospel song that has been interpreted in jazz, funk, and just about every genre. And the truth of the song remains relevant now more than ever, it seems, here in 2020. For a bio sketch of Thomas Dorsey, refer to the post “Come, Let Us Go Back To God.” For more  on the life of Mahalia Jackson, who sings our first musical number here, refer to “Soon Will Be Done.”

 

LYRICS – If We Ever Needed The Lord Before…

If we ever needed the Lord before, we sure do need Him now,

Oh we sure do need Him now, Lord, we sure do need Him now. (Oh glory)

If we ever needed the Lord before, we sure do need Him now, we need Him every day and every hour.

We need Him in the morning, we need Him in the night.

We need Him in the noonday, when the sun is shining bright.

We need Him when we’re happy, we need Him when we’re sad.

We need Him when we’re burdened, just to make our hearts feel glad.

 

This song, of course, is always relevant. But in this year of 2020, we all seem particularly vulnerable. We have natural disasters around every corner, and an international plague that has resulted in a fallen economy and hundreds of thousands of deaths in America. The lockdown has resulted in a “death of despair” (alcohol-related, drug OD, suicide) every four minutes in this country. Suicides in particular have risen sharply, especially with the elderly and the teens, because of the current loneliness, anxiety, fear and hopelessness in our nation. The covid epidemic has affected every part of the United States, and our disordered country is troubled in spirit. The racial unrest and uncertainty has also contributed to our national depression.

But America had other problems before the covid virus crossed our shores. There has been a gradual diminishing of our national character that has seemingly reached the bottom. We seem to have been swept up in a immoral mudslide. The United States is a morally weak nation:  We have killed over 60 million unborn babies through abortion; Pornography is a billion dollar business, and because of the internet, younger school-age children are being exposed to it and getting hooked; Child porn is rampant; Human-trafficking in America is at an all-time high, another billion dollar business; Drug addiction, particularly with heroin, prescription opioids, fentanyl and meth, continues to be a scourge of society; Sexual immorality is commonplace and culturally accepted, from adultery and promiscuity to homosexuality; Gambling, which leads to addiction and a truckload of other vices, was a 42 billion dollar business in 2018, and it has only increased since then; Anti-Semitism is on the rise; The nuclear family is seen as unimportant, and so the breakdown of fatherhood has led to much criminal behavior and poverty-stricken homes; Dishonesty is distressingly common, from IRS cheating to cyber-crimes and a multitude of scams on the vulnerable. It’s difficult to know who you can trust outside of your church and best friends. Only God can fix this profound moral breakdown in our country, with another Great Awakening and national revival. If we ever needed the Lord before, we sure do need Him now. We need Him every day and every hour. But we need to keep in mind… Where sin abounds, grace much more abounds. In this world we will have trouble, but cheer up… Christ has conquered the world. Come, Lord Jesus.