Am I a soldier of the cross,A follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His Name?
Verse 2
Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?
Verse 3
Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?
Verse 4
Sure I must fight, if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord.
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.
Verse 5
Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer, though they die;
They see the triumph from afar,
By faith they bring it nigh.
Verse 6
When that illustrious day shall rise,
And all Thy armies shine
In robes of victory through skies,
The glory shall be Thine.
I read this last night in the last chapter of a Zane Hodges book, i sang it as a child and knew the tune but I don't think I have ever sung it as an adult in the Church. Thanks for posting it. I'm a contact evangelist and I come up against it sometimes, the resistance, the fight. I'm kind and loving when I talk to students about Christ but it is an exhausting fight something unseen you are pushing against all day. Bu it is supposed to be this way, and I don't want to forget.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother would quote this poem so often, especially when she was feeling life weary and she died at 96. My mother, who passed into God's arms at 101 and we spent 4.5 years gently and lovingly caring for her. She quoted this poem and many others as they did in those early days when poems and hymns were full of meaning and not just repetition of a few shallow words over and over again to a loud bands with guitars and drums, instead of the glorious organ and piano musicians. I am a Chaplain now and I will be quoting this poem and others to the precious people who look to me for beautiful encouragement and tenderness of words from the depth of spirit and minds of poems from the past, along with verses from God's Holy Scriptures. I appreciate being able to find these precious poems on line to recall.
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