I hear a sweet voice that floats down from ab­ove,
It sounds like the voice of a friend that I love;
It bids me watch­ful and faith­ful and bold,
For I fight for a crown more pre­cious than gold.

Refrain

For a crown, for a crown, for a crown I fight,
With Christ as my lead­er, my strength and my light;
For a crown, for a crown, for a crown I fight,
With Christ as my lead­er, my strength and my light.

It whis­pers, Oh sol­diers! yield not to des­pair,
For Je­sus is with you wher­ev­er you are;
His grace will en­able you, sure­ly, to win,
In fight­ing the bat­tle with er­ror and sin.

Refrain

The clouds may sur­round me and dark­en my way
And shut from my bo­som the sun­shine of day;
But Christ in the gloom of the night will ap­pear,
And turn into glad­ness my ang­uish and fear.

Refrain

The foes that as­sail me stand forth in their pride,
Within and around me on ev­ery side;
But armed and equipped by my king, I am strong;
And know that, in bat­tle, I’ll van­quish the wrong.

Refrain

God’s bat­tle will win at the last, I am sure,
Though long the great con­flict with sin may en­dure,
His pow­er, and jus­tice and love will unite,
To bright­en the earth with the tri­umphs of right.

Refrain