Fight the Good Fight

Representative Text

Fight the good fight; lay hold
Upon eternal life;
Keep but thy shield, be bold,
Stand through the hottest strife;
Invincible while in the field,
Thou canst not fail, unless thou yield.

No force of earth or hell,
Though fiends with men unite,
162
Truth's champion can compel,
However press'd, to flight;
Invincible upon the field,
He cannot fall, unless he yield.

Apollyon's arm may shower
Darts thick as hail, and hide
Heaven's face, as in the hour,
When Christ on Calvary died;
No powers of darkness in the field
Can tread thee down, unless thou yield.

Trust in thy Saviour's might;
Yea, fill thy latest breath,
Fight, and like Him in fight,
By dying conquer death;
And all-victorious in the field,
Then with thy sword, thy spirit yield.

Great words are these, and strong
Yet Lord, I look to Thee,
To whom alone belong,
Valour and victory;
With Thee, my Captain in the field,
I must prevail, I cannot yield.

Sacred Poems and Hymns

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Author: James Montgomery

James Montgomery (b. Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, 1771; d. Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, 1854), the son of Moravian parents who died on a West Indies mission field while he was in boarding school, Montgomery inherited a strong religious bent, a passion for missions, and an independent mind. He was editor of the Sheffield Iris (1796-1827), a newspaper that sometimes espoused radical causes. Montgomery was imprisoned briefly when he printed a song that celebrated the fall of the Bastille and again when he described a riot in Sheffield that reflected unfavorably on a military commander. He also protested against slavery, the lot of boy chimney sweeps, and lotteries. Associated with Christians of various persuasions, Montgomery supported missio… Go to person page >

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First Line:	Fight the good fight, lay hold
Title:	Fight the Good Fight
Author:	James Montgomery
Meter:	6.6.6.6.8.8
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain

1 Timothy 6:12
(hymns)

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Notes

Fight the good fight; lay hold. J. Montgomery. [The Fight of Faith.] Written Feb. 14, 1834 (M. MSS.), and given in Ferguson's Selection of Hymns for British Seamen, 1838; and in the same year, with alterations, in Joshua Fawcett's Temple Offerings. It was also included in Montgomery's Original Hymns, 1853, No. 158, in 5 stanzas of 6 lines, and headed, "Valiant for the Truth." It is in several collections in Great Britain and America, but usually in an abbreviated form.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

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