We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender

1
We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender;
  We go not forth alone against the foe;
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender.
  We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.
2
Yea, in Thy Name, O Captain of salvation!
  In Thy dear Name, all other names above;
Jesus our Righteousness, our sure Foundation,
  Our Prince of glory and our King of love.
3
We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
  And needing more each day Thy grace to know:
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing;
  We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.
4
We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender:
  Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise
When reigning in the Kingdom of Thy splendor;
  Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days.
29
Hlengiwe Priscilla Hlabolwa

Johannesburg-Roodepoort, Gauteng, South Africa

This song comforts me so much, to know and realise that I have a Saviour in whom I can rest on.

Praise the Lord for His grace and mercy.


Jeanette Neil

Auckland, New Zealand

I also went to Middleton Grange School in Christchurch, New Zealand. This song has just come back to me recently. I sang this with our graduates from form 2 when I was 12 all the way back in 1984. I finally found the words and song now. Thank you Lord. We especially pray for the Muslim people who are being attacked for their faith in Christchurch in 2019. Kia Kaha, stay strong in our faith.


Guy Brown

Katoomba, NSW, Australia

This was the hymn of my school, Middleton Grange in Christchurch New Zealand, might still be. My last year of school was in 1994 but I have found memories of this song and sing it to my children as they go off to sleep. My faith has come and gone a few times and is currently gone but I still love this hymn.


Jessica Broadley

Wellington

I have just been reading the biography of Nate Saint, a young brother who were killed along with 4 other young missionary men when reaching out to the Acua people in Ecuador. These men sang this hymn the night before they set out. Nate's sister Rachel and Elisabeth (Jim Elliot's wife) then went and lived among the Acua people, bringing Christ to this tribe.


Celita Louback Welsch

Fennville, Michigan, United States

I cried a lot and while singing the will of my Lord is my strength. I love Him and being in so many hostil countries I feel safe because whatever happens to me, I always will be with Him and He always will be with me!


Anonymous

Oh our precious Master, our Author of salvation , Prince of glory, King of Love how we thank You from the depth of our heart . we are Your slaves of Love , Soldiers of Love to bring You back on this earth we long for this our dearest Beloved and Husband.


Ana Lara

Tolland, Connecticut, United States

Edith Gilling Cherry was born February 9th, 1872 Plymouth, Devon, England and died August 29th, 1897. She was only 25 years old, yet in her short life she managed to write poetry and hymns which are still popular today.

Edith was stricken with polio in infancy and needed to walk with the aid of crutches for the rest of her life. At age 6, her only sister, fifteen months younger than she, died. At age 12, she suffered a stroke and on August 29, of 1897, Edith suffered another stroke that caused her early death. Just before passing, Edith and her mother exchanged this conversation “ It all seems so small, all I have tried to do , so small to Him”. Her mother replied “ There are your songs dear, they will carry on your work”. But Edith replied “Ah but they were not mine at all, they were just given to me all ready and all I had to do was write them down”. Her poetry book “The Master’s Touch and Other Poems” are selected poems from the writings of Edith G. Cherry by her mother Matilda Cherry.

The tune for this hymn was written by Finish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957). He wrote musical score for a historical tableaux in a pageant that celebrated and supported Finland’s press against Russian oppression.


Donald Kinnie

White Rock, BC, Canada

This song was sung at my graduation from Bible College in 1966 - 52 years ago. The Lord brought it to my mind today from somewhere deep within my memory. So I looked it up online. Now retired from the ministry these words still move me deeply.


Ron Rogalski

Santa Ana, California, United States

This hymn, sung by Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Pete Fleming, Roger Youderian, and Ed McCully on the night before they were killed in the jungles of Ecuador, is a part of the musical, AT ANY COST.


Lloyd Daniels

Lydney, Glos.

This incident (Mid Century Martyrs was the title of the original film) had a great impact on me as a young Christian in my late teens. It influenced my interest and involvement in missionary work. I praise God for that and for the opportunity to be arranging currently for the stage version "Reckless Abandon" to be hosted at my church in Bream, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire on Monday 11th June this year. We shall be singing this hymn then - and possibly before that too!

Piano Hymns