The Son of God goes forth to war,
_____a kingly crown to gain;
His blood-red banner streams afar,
_____who follows in His train?
Who best can drink his cup of woe,
_____triumphant over pain?
Who patient bears his cross below?
_____He follows in His train.
That martyr first, whose eagle eye
_____could pierce beyond the grave,
Who saw his Master in the sky
_____and called on Him to save;
Like Him, with pardon on his tongue,
_____in midst of mortal pain,
He prayed for them that did the wrong.
_____Who follows in His train?
A glorious band, the chosen few
_____on whom the Spirit came,
Twelve valiant saints, their hope they knew,
_____and mocked the cross and flame;
They met the tyrant’s brandished steel,
_____the lion’s gory mane;
They bowed their heads the death to feel.
_____Who follows in their train?
A noble army—men and boys,
_____the matron and the maid—
Around the Savior’s throne rejoice,
_____in robes of light arrayed.
They climbed the steep ascent of Heav’n,
_____through peril, toil and pain;
O God, to us may grace be given
_____to follow in their train.
– Reginald Heber, 1812