The hour is at hand to awaken;
The day of salvation is here! (Rom 13:11; 2 Cor 6:2)
As sons of the kingdom unshaken, (Heb 12:28)
Rise up and cast out all your fear! (1 Jn 4:18)
Far gone is the time spent in weakness;
Far gone are the shades of the night.
Now cast off the works done in darkness,
And put on the armor of light. (Rom 13:12)The tempter is shrewd and unceasing; (1 Pt 5:8; 2 Cor 2:11)
The battle is always at hand.
But even with pressure increasing,
Our Captain is still in command.
Now strengthened by prayer and confession,
We are not alone in the fight! (Jas 5:16)
Now lay down the weight of transgression, (Heb 12:1)
And put on the armor of light.Now cut off each source of temptation,
Whatever it takes to be pure.
The joy of eternal salvation
Is worth any pain you endure! (Matt 5:27-30)
For sin I will make no provision,
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom 13:14)
Each day I will make the decision
To put on the armor of light.
This hymn is largely taken from Romans 13:11-14 (ESV):
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
It was one of those “huh, we need a hymn based on this text” ideas that came to fruition in 2011/2012 not long after I had moved to Gettysburg, PA. I would go running at Oakside Park in Biglerville, which is where I got the opening ideas for the tune, thus the tune name: OAKSIDE.
Many of the ideas in this hymn were put together based on my experiences in young mens’ Bible camps. The help I received there has been invaluable in my walk with Christ, particularly learning the value of sharing my struggles with those who can help and praying together to find healing.
It is my prayer that this hymn can be motivating to all of us to do as Paul urges: “So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. …and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
– Stephen