Breast the wave, Christian, when it is strongest,
Watch for day, Christian, when the night’s longest;
Onward and upward still be thine endeavor;
The rest that remaineth will be forever.

Fight the fight, Christian, Jesus is o’er thee;
Run the race, Christian, Heav’n is before thee;
He Who hath promised faltereth never;
The love of eternity flows on forever.

Lift thine eye, Christian, just as it closeth;
Raise thy heart, Christian, ere it reposeth;
Thee from the love of Christ nothing shall sever;
And when all thy work is done, praise Him forever.

Come, let us anew our journey pursue,
Roll round with the year,
And never stand still till the Master appear,
His adorable will let us gladly fulfill,
And our talents improve,
By the patience of hope, and the labor of love,
By the patience of hope, and the labor of love.

Our life is a dream; our time, as a stream,
Glides swiftly away,
And the fugitive moment refuses to stay,
The arrow is flown, the moment is gone;
The millennial year
Rushes on to our view, and eternity’s here,
Rushes on to our view, and eternity’s here.

O that each in the day of His coming may say,
“I have fought my way through;
I have finished the work Thou didst give me to do!”
O that each from his Lord may receive the glad word,
“Well and faithfully done!
Enter into My joy, and sit down on My throne!”
“Enter into My joy, and sit down on My throne!”

Falter not nor look behind thee,
Cast thy every weight aside;
Haste to win the prize before thee,
Trusting Him, thy precious Guide.

Refrain

Falter not, nor look behind thee,
Still thy course with joy pursue;
Persevere, for thou must conquer,
With the cross of Christ in view.

Falter not nor look behind thee,
Firm and fearless take thy place;
Robe and crown and palm are waiting
For the victors in the race.

Refrain

Falter not nor look behind thee,
Lest thy labor prove in vain;
Run with patience, and remember
Thou hast much to lose or gain.

Refrain

Falter not nor look behind thee,
Lo, the prize is just in sight;
One more struggle, meet it bravely,
Speed thee on with all thy might.

Refrain

Falter not nor look behind thee,
What of all thy trials past,
If by grace through faith in Jesus,
Thine the victor’s crown at last?

Refrain

“I the good fight have fought,”
O when shall I declare?
The victory by my Savior got,
I long with Paul to share.

O may I triumph so,
When all my warfare’s past;
And dying, find my latest foe
Under my feet at last!

This blessèd word be mine,
Just as the port is gained,
“Kept by the power of grace divine,
I have the faith maintained.”

The apostles of my Lord,
To whom it first was given,
They could not speak a greater word,
Nor all the saints in Heaven.

Oft in sorrow, oft in woe,
Onward, Christian, onward go:
Fight the fight, maintain the strife
Strengthened with the Bread of life.

Onward Christians, onward go,
Join the war, and face the foe;
Faint not: Much does yet remain,
Dreary is the long campaign.

Shrink not, Christians will ye yield?
Will ye quit the painful field?
Will ye flee in danger’s hour?
Know ye not your Captain’s pow’r?

Let your drooping hearts be glad:
March in heavenly armor clad:
Fight, nor think the battle long,
Victory soon shall be your song.

Let not sorrow dim your eye,
Soon shall every tear be dry;
Let not fears your course impede,
Great your strength, if great your need.

Onward then in battle move,
More than conquerors ye shall prove;
Though opposed by many a foe,
Christian soldiers onward go.

Summoned home, the call has sounded,
Bidding a soldier his warfare cease;
And the song of angels resounded,
Welcomes a warrior to eternal peace.
Praise the Lord! from earthly struggles
A comrade has found release.
Death has lost its sting, the grave its victory;
Conflicts and dangers are over;
See him honored in the throne of glory,
Crowned by the hand of Jehovah!

Refrain

Strife and sorrow over,
The Lord’s true faithful soldier
Has been called to go from the ranks below,
To the conq’ring host above.

Once the sword, but now the scepter,
Once the fight, now the rest and fame,
Broken every earthly fetter,
Now the glory for the cross and shame;
Once the loss of all for Jesus,
But now the eternal gain.
Trials and sorrow here have found their meaning
Mysteries their explanation;
Safe, forever in the sunlight gleaming
Of His eternal salvation.

Refrain

Why should our tears in sorrow flow
When God recalls His own;
And bids them leave a world of woe
For an immortal crown?

Is not e’en death a gain to those
Whose life to God was given?
Gladly to earth their eyes they close
To open them in Heaven.

Their toils are past, their work is done,
And they are fully blest;
They fought the fight, the victory won,
And entered into rest.

Then let our sorrows cease to flow;
God has recalled His own;
But let our hearts, in every woe,
Still say, “Thy will be done.”