2 Strong, in the Lord of hosts,
  And in his mighty power;
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts,
  Is more than conqueror.

3 Stand, then, in his great might,
  With all his strength endued;
And take, to arm you for the fight,
  The panoply of God:—­

4 That, having all things done,
  And all your conflicts past,
You may o’ercome through Christ alone,
  And stand entire at last.

5 From strength to strength go on;
  Wrestle, and fight, and pray;
Tread all the powers of darkness down,
  And win the well-fought day.

6 Still let the Spirit cry,
  In all his soldiers, “Come,”
Till Christ, the Lord, descends from high,
  And takes the conquerors home.

     Charles Wesley, 1749.

425 Laban.  S.M.

Victory is on the Lord’s Side. (765)

Arise, ye saints, arise! 
  The Lord our Leader is: 
The foe before his banner flies,
  And victory is his.

2 We soon shall see the day
  When all our toils shall cease;
When we shall cast our arms away,
  And dwell in endless peace.

3 This hope supports us here;
  It makes our burdens light: 
’Twill serve our drooping hearts to cheer,
  Till faith shall end in sight:—­

4 Till, of the prize possessed,
  We hear of war no more;
And ever with our Leader rest,
  On yonder peaceful shore.

     Thomas Kelly, 1803.

426 Maitland.  C.M.

The Sacrifices of Warfare. (751)

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?

2 Must I be carried to the skies
  On flow’ry beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
  And sailed thro’ bloody seas?

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?

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.

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.

6 When that illustrious day shall rise,
  And all thy armies shine
In robes of vict’ry through the skies,
  The glory shall be thine.

     Isaac Watts, 1723

427 America. 6s & 4s.

Christian Soldiers. (773)

Soldiers of Christ are we
Marching to victory,
  Marching to heaven;
In his bright armor dressed,
His cross our chosen crest,
And for our food and rest,
  His word is given.

2 Tho’ foes our path surround,
Tho’ toils and cares abound,
  Onward we tread;
We hear our Lord’s command;
We grasp each shining brand,
And, like a banner grand,
  Hope waves o’erhead.