Is there a revival or camp meeting song more popular than “Old
Time Religion”? Maybe, but few, and few
serve so well to stir up so quickly good feelings about the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Try getting the song out of your
head after singing or even listening to it for a while—not an easy
task. It is bouncing around in my head
even as I write.
Like a good campfire song, it lends itself easily to new
verses improvised on the spot by each singer in turn. Because of that, I do not know that there is an
official set of lyrics.
All of the variations you might hear or sing begin with—
Now give me that old time religion.
Give me that old time religion.
Give me that old time religion.
It’s good enough for me.
That lead verse sets the pattern. After it come verses like the following:
Makes me love everybody.
Makes me love everybody.
Makes me love everybody.
It’s good enough for me.
I particularly like that thought, because the religion of
Jesus Christ is designed to change us so that we do love everybody. The
greatest gift of God is charity, the pure love of Christ. If a religion is unable to bring about that
change in people, then it is not the religion taught by the Savior.
Here is another verse that I like:
It was good for the Hebrew
children.
It was good for the Hebrew
children.
It was good for the Hebrew
children.
It’s good enough for me.
Some modern religions seem to have forgotten the Hebrew
children. You cannot have the true “old
time religion” without including them.
As Moses and the other Old Testament prophets taught, the religion of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was the religion of Jesus Christ. It was Christ—referred to as the Messiah and as Jehovah in the Hebrew scriptures—who as the God of the Old
Testament gave the Hebrews their religion, the religion of direct revelation
from God that brought them out of Egypt, and it was good enough to bring them
prosperity whenever they followed it.
Of course, the old time religion of God is even older than
the Hebrew children, since it was the religion taught by God to Adam and his
descendants, observed by Noah and his family on the Ark.
There were other old time religions, but they were not good for anybody,
with no power to save in heaven or on earth.
And when the Hebrew children forsook the old time religion
and instead embraced the pagan religions of their neighbors, the Lord could not
protect them. Many rediscovered God’s
old time religion once they were in exile in Babylon .
That lies behind another stirring verse:
It was good for the prophet Daniel.
It was good for the prophet Daniel.
It was good for the prophet Daniel.
It’s good enough for me.
It was good for all of God’s prophets and taught by
them. That included the prophets of the
Old Testament and the Apostles and prophets of the church Jesus established
during His mortal ministry. This verse
captures that spirit:
It was good for Paul and Silas.
It was good for Paul and Silas.
It was good for Paul and Silas.
It’s good enough for me.
That old time religion, of Apostles and prophets who spoke
directly with God, and through whom the Father continued to speak regularly to
His children, had power to save. As the
song continues,
It will take us all to heaven.
It will take us all to heaven.
It will take us all to heaven.
It’s good enough for me.
I am very grateful that God’s old time religion of prophets and Apostles of Jesus Christ is on the
earth once again, just as it was anciently.
I will add my own verse:
It will help us follow Jesus.
It will help us follow Jesus.
It will help us follow Jesus.
And that’s good enough for me.
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