Onward Christian soldiers

1
Onward Christian soldiers!
  Marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
  Going on before.
Christ, the royal Master,
  Leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
  See, His banners go!
  Onward, Christian soldiers!
  Marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus,
    Going on before.
2
At the name of Jesus
  Satan's host doth flee;
On then, Christian soldiers,
  On to victory!
Hell's foundations quiver
  At the shout of praise:
Brothers, lift your voices,
  Loud your anthems raise!
3
Like a mighty army
  Moves the Church of God:
Brothers, we are treading
  Where the saints have trod;
We are not divided,
  All one Body we—
One in faith and Spirit,
  One eternally.
4
Crowns and thrones may perish,
  Kingdoms rise and wane;
But the Church of Jesus
  Constant will remain.
Gates of hell can never
  'Gainst the Church prevail;
We have Christ's own promise,
  Which can never fail.
5
Onward, then, ye people!
  Join our happy throng;
Blend with ours your voices
  In the triumph song.
Glory, laud and honor
  Unto Christ, the King;
This through countless ages
  Men and angels sing.
85
Paul M

Birmingham, United Kingdom

Good gutsy, manly hymn, although I would amend the words 'with the cross of Jesus going on before' to 'looking unto Jesus who is gone before'. Better by far than the insipid and womanly lyrics of Doerksen's 'Faithful One' - 'you pick me up when I fall done' - how pathetic'! What is wrong with 21st Century evangelicals that they should want to sing such drivel every Sunday? - Isaiah 3:12.


Robert McEwan

Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland

Gets to my heart strings every time this is one of the best hymns we have.


Jack Seeley 8/7/53

Hayfork, California, United States

I learned this as a child and still remember the words, how mighty those words are today!


Bentil Favour

Kaduna, Nigeria

Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith. We are complete in Him. Christ our King is our hope of Glory.


Jachin

My best!


Chris H

I love it.


Lois Connolly

Boston, MA, United States

Thank you so much for this! I can remember when I was 4 and after my sisters had left for school, I would lay on the floor with my little record player and play this song over and over for as long as my Mom could stand hearing the same song over and over. When she could no longer stand it, she would remove the record and record player and offer a new activity for me. Then, the next morning it began again. I remember her telling me when I was older that I used to "drive her crazy" on school days! She loved it when the weekend arrived and my sisters were there to distract me for a couple of mornings. I think she dreaded weekdays and was happy when I was old enough to go to school!!


Francis Lajeunesse

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Can someone tell me where I can get this song so I can use it as a ringtone for some of my brother knights I belong to in the Knights of Columbus as a ringtone or text tone.


Daniel

Columbus, Ohio, United States

This is one hymn that always remind me of the mind set of a soldier that every believer should have; for we wrestle not against flesh and blood. The good news is that the captain of the army had said long ago that we should be of good cheer for He has conquered the world. Hallelujah!


Jim Reid

Tears flow as I remember as a 7 year old, 66 years ago, at a boys camp up north when someone donated the money for me to go to camp where we learned this inspiring hymn as we lined up and marched into the cafeteria. Today I am involved in trying to hold our church together as one of these youtube videos gave me strength to speak to our congregation at tonight's annual meeting. PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS SPIRITUAL SUSTENANCE!

Paul continues, "To walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing one another in love, being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace" (vv. 1b-3). Whenever we talk about the practice of the church life, we must remember that the first thing needed is to keep the oneness of the Spirit. This requires that we forget about everything else. The third stanza of the traditional hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers" says, "One in hope and doctrine, one in charity." This is not an accurate concept. Christians can never be one in doctrine. If someone has a certain understanding about a particular portion of the Bible, he may hold to that portion without caring for the oneness. Many Christians insist on baptism by sprinkling, some insist on a single immersion, and some insist on three immersions. Some immerse in warm water, others immerse in cold water, and still others baptize in other ways. In this one matter alone there are many opinions. In order to realize the church life we need to forget about doctrine. If we pay attention to doctrine, we may become a "three-immersions" church. Praise the Lord, the Spirit is in you and in me, so we all are one in the Spirit. Therefore, it is better to sing the above line as, "One in faith and Spirit, / One eternally" (Hymns, #871).

Piano Hymns