AM I A SOLDIER OF THE CROSS?

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?

Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?

Words: Isaac Watts, ap­pend­ed to his Ser­mons, pub­lished 1721-4; Watts wrote this hymn in con­junc­tion with a ser­mon he was giv­ing on 1 Co­rinth­i­ans 16:13. For a dif­fer­ent ar­range­ment, see When the Bat­tle's Over.

Music: Ar­ling­ton, Thom­as A. Arne, 1762; ar­ranged by Ralph Har­ri­son in his Sac­red Har­mo­ny–A Col­lect­ion of Psalm­tunes, An­cient and Mo­dern (Lon­don: 1784) (MI­DI, score). Alternate tune: