Scripture Verse

The Lord told Gideon, With the three hundred men…I will rescue you, and will hand over the Midianites to you. Let all the other people go, each man to his home. Judges 7:7

Introduction

portrait
Johnson Oatman, Jr. (1856–1922)

Words: John­son Oat­man, Jr., in Songs of Love and Praise No. 5, ed­it­ed by John R. Swe­ney, J. How­ard Ent­wisle & Frank M. Da­vis (Phi­la­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia: John J. Hood, 1898), page 80.

Music: Ad­am Gei­bel (🔊 pdf nwc).

If you know where to get a bet­ter pho­to of Oat­man,

Lyrics

Once, Gi­de­on at God’s com­mand
Took from his ar­my great and grand
A chos­en few, a lit­tle band
Of just three hun­dred;
The rank and file, to their dis­may,
Were then dis­charged and sent away,
But with the few he won the day,
With those three hun­dred.

Refrain

The brave three hun­dred,
The Lord’s three hun­dred;
O help us, Lord, to num­bered be
With Thy three hun­dred.

Today we see church build­ings stand
In ev­ery ci­ty of our land,
But in each fight God has a band,
His own three hun­dred;
Thro’ rain or shine, thro’ dark or light,
These sold­iers stand up for the right,
And al­ways win, tho’ fierce the fight,
God’s own three hun­dred.

Refrain

Oh, help us, Lord, to watch and pray,
That we at last may hear Thee say,
Well done, ye no­bly won the day,
My own three hun­dred
;
Then, when there are no foes to fight,
In that blest land where comes no night,
O may we walk with Thee in white,
Thy saved three hun­dred.

Refrain

illustration
Gideon Chooses the Three Hundred
James Tissot (1836–1902)