1 We are soldiers of Christ, who is mighty to save,
and his banner the cross is unfurled;
we are pledged to be faithful and steadfast and brave
against Satan, the flesh, and the world.
2 We are brothers and comrades, we stand side by side,
and our faith and our hope are the same;
and we think of the cross on which Jesus has died,
when we bear the reproach of his name.
3 At the font we were marked with the cross on our brow,
of our grace and our calling the sign;
and the weakest is strong to be true to his vow,
for the armour we wear is divine.
4 We will watch ready armed if the tempter draw near,
if he comes with a frown or a smile;
we will heed not his threats, nor his flatteries hear,
nor be taken by storm or by wile.
5 We will master the flesh, and its longings restrain,
we will not be the bond-slaves of sin,
the pure Spirit of God in our nature shall reign,
and our spirits their freedom shall win.
6 For the world’s love we live not, its hate we defy,
and we will not be led by the throng;
we’ll be true to ourselves, to our Father on high,
and the bright world to which we belong.
7 Now let each cheer his comrade, let hearts beat as one,
while we follow where Christ leads the way;
’twere dishonour to yield, or the battle to shun,
we will fight, and will watch, and will pray.
8 Though the warfare be weary, the trial be sore,
in the might of our God we will stand;
Oh! What joy to be crowned and be pure evermore,
in the peace of our own fatherland.
Source: CPWI Hymnal #440
Pollock, Thomas Benson, M.A., was born in 1836, and graduated at Trinity College, Dublin, B.A. 1859, M.A. 1863, where he also gained the Vice-Chancellor's Prize for English Verse in 1855. Taking Holy Orders in 1861, he was Curate of St. Luke's, Leek, Staffordshire; St. Thomas's, Stamford Hill, London; and St. Alban's, Birmingham. Mr. Pollock is a most successful writer of metrical Litanies. His Metrical Litanies for Special Services and General Use, Mowbray, Oxford, 1870, and other compositions of the same kind contributed subsequently to various collections, have greatly enriched modern hymnbooks. To the 1889 Supplemental Hymns to Hymns Ancient & Modern, Mr. Pollock contributed two hymns, “We are soldiers of Christ, Who is mighty to save… Go to person page >
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