Channels, Fall 2019

Channels • 2019 • Volume 4 • Number 1 Page 59 uses this phrase to describe the expanse of God’s power. It has already been demonstrated how God’s character brought confidence to the soldiers, knowing that whether they lived or died, He kept them safe. This textual allusion seems to reinforce this observation. The soldier’s source of hope and confidence came from the person and power of God. They believed they could boldly act because God kept them safe in his hand. “A Nation’s Trust in God” 45 This song is associated with the Union and describes God as the one who reigns and judges above all. The goal and mission of the Union is to “save their native land” and to regain the once “sacred peace” among the North and South. The emphasis is preserving the Union. A lot could be said about the lyrics, but there is one particular textual allusion of interest. The song addresses the “Majesty on high” in whom they trust. This phrase only occurs once in the Bible, in Hebrews 1:3. The first few verses of Hebrews describe the Son of God, Jesus Christ, His nature, and His current place “on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” The “Majesty on high” depicts God the Father, as the reigning God the soldiers can trust. The soldiers hope in the day when the land again is blessed like “days before.” As the soldiers fought to preserve the Union, their hope was grounded in a powerful God who ultimately reigned over the nation. “To Canaan” 46 The first verse of this song discusses the flag that the Union fought for, the one for which their fathers shed blood in the Revolutionary War. The song declares, “What God has woven in his loom, let no one man rend in twain!” This is a textual allusion to Jesus’ teaching in Mark 10:9 and Matthew 19:6, where He tells the crowds that what God binds together, let no one separate. Jesus is answering questions of marriage and divorce that the Pharisees asked Him a few verses earlier. The song takes this affirmation Jesus makes about the firmness of marriage and applies it to the nation of America, claiming that God has woven it together and it should not be undone. The soldiers believed the Union had been established through divine means—the South would not win because God desired the Union to remain. Another occasion of a textual allusion occurs in verse two with the hypothetical question, “what Captain leads your armies?” The answer is “The Mighty One of Israel, His name is Lord of Hosts.” This is a near exact quotation of Isaiah 1:24 where the Lord is said to be “the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel.” The context of the Isaiah verse is the Lord saying that He will destroy His enemies and those who transgressed against Him. The soldiers referring to this label of God shows not only that God was involved in the Civil War, but that His character was one to lead armies and avenge His enemies. They believed God Himself guided the Union. “Battle Hymn of the Republic” 47 Perhaps the most well-known Civil War song, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” contains several instances of textual allusion. The first verse imagines that the author has seen “the glory of the coming of the Lord,” which is an allusion to texts like James 5:8, which describe the second coming 45 S. Lasar and Cynthia Bullock, A Nation's Trust in God , (New York: Firth, Pond & Co., 1861) Notated Music. 46 Eben A. Kelly, To Canaan , (Providence: Clapp & Cory, 1862) Notated Music. 47 Julia Ward Howe, Battle Hymn of the Republic , (Boston: Oliver Ditson & CO., 1861) Notated Music.