Our battle is not against flesh and blood...

I'm not in the habit of dwelling on Satan. Yes he's real, yes he's powerful. But our God is infinitely more powerful. I actually don't think of Satan often at all. I'm aware that he and his demons are out there lying, deceiving, stealing, destroying. But Christ has crushed the serpent's head. His fate is sealed.

I've found two songs particularly helpful though, and they deal with Satan. The first (which I posted a few months ago) is Project 86's Destroyer. It's a song to Satan. One verse says:

The lives that you thought that were yours to devour
Destroyer, the tables have turned in this hour
The plagues you unleashed, every vice that you fed
Shall be visited here tenfold on your head!!

The musical style of Project 86 makes that verse (and the whole song) sound like a victorious battle cry. You want to shout in defiance of Satan's schemes. You may even find yourself hating your sin more, knowing that Christ has accomplished this victory.

The other song I heard more recently and is very different from this song by P86, and it's the reason for this post. It's called Son of the Morning by Oh, Sleeper from their album of the same name. I'm going to post the lyrics in their entirety at the end.

The song is a conversation between Satan and God. When I listen to it I find it absolutely chilling. I don't often think of the absolute hatred Satan has for God and his sons and daughters. And I think we can often focus on how much people like us. And if we're Christians, we can forget how much hatred there can be towards Christ in the world. I think this song, while not glorifying it, shows the reality of the absolute hatred that Satan has for Christ and those who follow him.

God's words in this song are few, but they're enough. It reminds me of Satan standing before God asking permission to torment Job. Satan likes to talk a lot and makes a lot of claims (Job will curse you). God says very little (you may do this, but not this). You know who's words have the authority.

I find this song incredibly encouraging. Without Christ, this is who's side I would be on. I would not be in Christ's kingdom. I would be in the kingdom of darkness, sharing the dreadful (and deserved) fate of this fallen angel. He is my enemy. My enemy isn't my coworker or that old friend who hurt my feelings. My battle is spiritual. But Christ has won that battle, and the war. In Christ I am a new creation. I am no longer a slave to sin. I am no longer damned. Christ's perfect life, substitutionary death and his glorious resurrection have secured my fate. And it's one of hope and new life.

You may not be used to seeing lyrics like this from a Christian band (yes, they're Christian). And it may not have the same impact reading as it does listening to it (the singer is a screamer). But the contrast between what I know of God and hearing/reading the words below are striking. If Satan can have such hatred towards God and his sons, and knowing that God's love for me is infinitely more...well, it's enough to make you weep in thankfulness.

Oh, Sleeper - Son of the Morning

And they call him the son of the morning...
I am the rival. I am the one who speaks in whisper.
Hear me now, dear, weak forgiver.
Hear me now, weak forgiver. Hear me now...
Don’t send an angel to face the devil.
You’re wasting power on grace. A maggot will always seek to feed from the grave,
where I’ll lead them and teach them to feast on the skin that defeats them, the skin they crave.

"If you could see like me you’d see you haven’t won anything.
If you could see like me you’d see, it’s by my grace that you’re breathing.
If you could see like me you’d see you haven’t won anything.
If you could see like me you’d see."

Every night I start my rise, climbing high into the morning sky,
but soon after I lose your bride and I damn your son for stealing my light.
This world is mine...
They call me the son of the morning. They call me the son of the morning.
I can mound all your fallen past the clouds as they roll in,
and when I do I will claim your throne through all these cowards you call your sons.
I am the lord of air and my dawn will last forever.
Go on pouring out because in the end I will have them.

"If you could see like me you’d see you haven’t won anything.
If you could see like me you’d see, it’s by my grace that you’re breathing.
If you could see like me you’d see you haven’t won anything.
If you could see like me you’d see, your precious light is fading.
Your light is fading."