The road to faith more often I’ve travelled by music than by the spoken or written word. Here is one such path, taken from the offertory hymn at the Vigil Mass for the 24th Sunday, St.Thomas More Parish, Scranton (Anglican Ordinariate Usage). The highlighted verse in the featured image is not in any of the Youtube versions, but I’ve found it particularly apt.  If you go to the linked website and scroll down you can get the audio for the mass (“The audio is here”) and the pdf of the order of worship (“The liturgy guide is here”).  There is a stirring homily on the Vienna victory that saved Europe from Islam, the persecution of Christians by Muslims, and the need to show forgiveness to Muslims, but defend ourselves from them.
There are several Youtube versions of the hymn…this one is by Appleton, submitted by Trail Reeves.  Here’s the omitted verse:
“Let not conscience make you linger,
Not of fitness fondly dream.
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him.”
Bob: I had never heard that song before; beautiful! Thank you. And you are right, sometimes music finds a way past our defenses and sinks into a special spot which, in turn, flowers in unexpected ways. God bless you!
I don’t know what genre of religious music you might call this, but I loved it when I first heard it on WFUV Sunday Mass from Jesuit Fordham University. Simple country gospel, perhaps? Any ideas? Better than the 70s pop/folk nice crap that prevails in the average suburban parish across the USA now.
Bob & Rob, thanks for your comments. The hymn was written by Joseph Hart, an English Evangelical, in 1759. It made its way to the American Evangelicals later. See below for a complete history:
https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-come-ye-sinners-poor-and-needy
Here is another great hymn, The Morning Trumpet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wm4jwPgebs