Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
Revelation 2:10
Words: From the Roman Breviary, 1632 (Christo profusum sanguinem). Translated from Latin to English by Robert Campbell (1814–1868) & the compilers of Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861.
Music: Constance (Gauntlett) Henry J. Gauntlett, 1861 (🔊 pdf nwc).
If you know where to get a good picture of Campbell (head & shoulders, at least 200×300 pixels),
Ye servants of our glorious king,
To Him your thankful praises bring;
And tell the deeds that grace has done,
The triumphs by His martyrs won.
Since they were faithful to the last,
Their holy struggles now are past;
The bitterness of death is o’er,
And theirs is bliss forevermore.
The flame might scorch, the knife lay bare,
And cruel beasts their members tear;
No powers of earth, no powers of hell
The souls that loved their Lord could quell.
Forever broken is the chain
That sought to bind them, but in vain;
O let us strive like them to win
Our freedom from the bonds of sin.
O Savior, may our portion be
With those who gave themselves to Thee,
Through all eternity to sing
All praise to Thee, the martyrs’ king.