The Star Spangled Banner like you've never heard it!

[Gary]

[my-youtube width=550 height=425]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKCVS57j284[/my-youtube]

[Here Am I]

Wow. I got chills hearing those voices and the harmonies.

What a gift God has given these young women. I pray that they will use it for Him, and not for personal gain.

[Daniel]

Most people are not aware that our National Anthem has four verses, the last one clearly shows our nation's heritage. But just try singing it at some national event and see what happens.

The Star Spangled Banner
By Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

[Laura]

Ah, I see what you mean, Daniel.

Interesting tidbit: if you've ever heard the phrase "from sea to shining sea" in reference to Canada, the phrase comes from Psalms.

Ps 72:8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

Quote:From Sea to Shining Sea



Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, a Father of Confederation and twice the Lt. Governor of New Brunswick, rose each morning to start his day with prayer and Scripture reading. As the 33 Fathers gathered in Charlottetown to discuss and draft the terms of the British North America Act, there were many suggestions on what to call this new "United Canada". That morning, as Tilley read from Psalm 72:8, he became so convinced that Canada should be a nation under God, that when he came down to the Conference session, he presented the inspired "Dominion of Canada". The other Fathers readily agreed and accepted. Today the following words hang in the corridor near the Confederation Chamber in Province House: 'In the hearts of the delegates who assembled in this room on September 1, 1864, was born the Dominion of Canada. Providence being their guide, they builded better than they knew.'"

The Term 'Dominion of Canada' beat out the Confederation Father's other competing names: "The United Colony of Canada", "the United Provinces of Canada", "the Federated Provinces of Canada", "the Republic of Canada", "the Realm of Canada", "the Union of Canada", and "the Kingdom of Canada" (strongly favoured by Prime Minister John A. MacDonald!).

The usage of the term 'Dominion' was formalized in 1867 through Canadian Confederation. The letter that established our name to Queen Victoria is signed by John A. Macdonald and explained that Dominion was "a tribute to the principles they earnestly desired to uphold."
Canada coat of arms This Dominion motto was even placed in Latin on our Canadian coat of arms "A Mari Usque Ad Mare" (from sea to sea) drawn once again straight from Psalm 72:8. "He shall have dominion from sea to sea." Thanks to Canada's leadership, the term "dominion" caught on throughout the world, also used by Australia and New Zealand.

One day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. God's heart is that every person in Canada will know His redeeming love and mercy. One way or another, God will have dominion in this great nation from sea to shining sea.

As our Canadian Charter of Rights so clearly states, "... Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law." Wherever we look in Canada, we find evidence of God's hand on the founding and growth of our nation. This February let us all affirm our national anthem in praying "God keep our land, glorious and free".

http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/cr0602.html

[Lynne]

[my-youtube width=425 height=344]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9_bP219ehQ[/my-youtube]

[Here Am I]

That was wonderful, Lynne.

And he sang with such conviction, it gave me chills.

It breaks my heart to see what has become of my country.