Holy Fortitude

Representative Text

1 Am I a soldier of the cross,
a foll'wer of the Lamb,
and shall I fear to own His cause,
or blush to speak His name?

2 Must I be carried to the skies
on flow'ry beds of ease,
while others fought to win the prize,
and sailed thro' bloody seas?

3 Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
to help me on to God?

4 Sure I must fight, if I would reign;
increase my courage, Lord!
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,
supported by Thy word.

5 The saints in all this glorious war
shall conquer, though they die;
they see the triumph from afar
by faith's discerning eye.

6 When that illustrious day shall rise,
and all Thine armies shine
in robes of vict'ry thro' the skies,
the glory shall be Thine.

Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #366

Author: Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts was the son of a schoolmaster, and was born in Southampton, July 17, 1674. He is said to have shown remarkable precocity in childhood, beginning the study of Latin, in his fourth year, and writing respectable verses at the age of seven. At the age of sixteen, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister. In 1698, he became assistant minister of the Independent Church, Berry St., London. In 1702, he became pastor. In 1712, he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and at Sir Thomas' pressing request, made it his home for the remainder of his life. It was a residence most favourable for his health, and for the prosecution of his literary… Go to person page >

Notes

Am I a soldier of the Cross? I. Watts. [Holy Fortitude.] Appended to his Sermons, published in 1721-24, in 3 vols., vol. iii., and intended to accompany a sermon on 1 Cor. xvi. 13. It is in 6 stanzas of 4 lines, and entitled "Holy Fortitude." In Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book, No. 671, st. v. and vi. are omitted, but the rest are unaltered. Original full text in all editions of Watts's Works. In the New Congregational Hymn Book, No. 623, it is given in an abbreviated and slightly altered form as — "Are we the soldiers of the Cross?" This is also found in Snepp's Songs of Grace & Glory, 1872, and other collections. It dates as early as the Leeds Hymn Book, 1853. The American use of this hymn is extensive.

-- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
================
Am I a soldier of the Cross? p. 55, ii. In some annotations of this hymn we have found it stated that it is a portion of "Do I believe what Jesus saith?" that the hymn in its full form appeared in Watts's Hymns & Sacred Songs, 1709; and that the portion beginning "Am I a soldier of the Cross?" subsequently appeared in his Sermons, 1721-24. The facts are (1) both hymns appeared in the Sermons, &c, 1721-24, “Do I believe, &c," for Ser. 30, and "Am I a soldier, &c." for Ser. 31; and (2) the two were united as one hymn, and included in the Hymns and Sacred Songs, Bk. i., No. 37, Pt. ii. sometime in the present century. We find it in T. Nelson's edition of Watts, 1844, and others, but in no edition before 1800.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Timeline

Media

You have access to this FlexScore.
Download:
Are parts of this score outside of your desired range? Try transposing this FlexScore.
General Settings
Stanza Selection
Voice Selection
Text size:
Music size:
Transpose (Half Steps):
Capo:
Contacting server...
Contacting server...
Questions? Check out the FAQ

A separate copy of this score must be purchased for each choir member. If this score will be projected or included in a bulletin, usage must be reported to a licensing agent (e.g. CCLI, OneLicense, etc).

This is a preview of your FlexScore.
Baptist Hymnal 1991 #481
  • Full Score (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
The Cyber Hymnal #150
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
The Cyber Hymnal #7362
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)
The Cyber Hymnal #7990
  • PDF (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer Score (NWC)
The United Methodist Hymnal #511
  • Bulletin Score (melody only) (PDF)
  • Bulletin Score (PDF)
  • Full Score (PDF)
Worship and Rejoice #510

Instances

Instances (501 - 600 of 1933)
Page Scan

Harmony Bells #89

Harp of Zion #d6

Page Scan

Harp of Zion #197

Harvest Bells No. 2 #37b

Page Scan

Harvest Bells Nos. 1, 2 and 3 #149

Page Scan

Harvest Hymns #159

Harvest of Light #d9

Hear the Call #d6

Heart and Life Songs #d7

Heart Echoes #d6

Heart Praise #d9

Page Scan

Heaven's Echo #167

Heavenly Echoes #d12

Page Scan

Heavenly Recruit Praise Hymns #57

Page Scan

Heavenly Sunlight #98

Helpful Hymns #d7

Page Scan

Helps for Worship #58

TextPage Scan

His Fullness Songs #73

Page Scan

His Praise #120

Page Scan

His Voice of Love #151

Holiness to the Lord #d7

Page Scan

Holy Voices #11

Home Gospel Songs #d12

Hosannas to the King, No.2 #d8

Page Scan

Hymn and Tune Book for the Church and the Home. (Rev. ed.) #602

Page Scan

Hymn and Tune Book for Use in Old School or Primitive Baptist Churches #280

Page Scan

Hymn and Tune Book of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (Round Note Ed.) #566

Page Scan

Hymn and Tune Book, for the Church and the Home #624

Page Scan

Hymn Book for Christian Worship #450

Page Scan

Hymn Book for Christian Worship. 8th ed. #a450

Hymn Book for the Army and Navy #d4

Hymn Book of the Colored M.E. Church in America #d12

Hymn Book of the Holiness Movement Church #d16

Page Scan

Hymn Book of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South #566

Page Scan

Hymn Book of the Methodist Protestant Church #452

Page Scan

Hymn Book of the Methodist Protestant Church. (11th ed.) #452

Page Scan

Hymn Book of the Methodist Protestant Church. (2nd ed.) #774

Page Scan

Hymn book of the Methodist Protestant Church. (4th ed.) #774

Page Scan

Hymn Book of the United Evangelical Church #298

Page Scan

Hymn-Book of the Evangelical Association #563

Page Scan

Hymnal and Canticles of the Protestant Episcopal Church with Music (Gilbert & Goodrich) #471

Tune InfoPage Scan

Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church #411

Page Scan

Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church #451

TextPage Scan

Hymnal and Order of Service #274a

TextPage Scan

Hymnal and Order of Service #274b

Page Scan

Hymnal Companion to the Prayer Book with Accompanying Tunes (Second Edition) #540

Page Scan

Hymnal Companion to the Prayer Book #469a

Page Scan

Hymnal Companion to the Prayer Book #469b

Page Scan

Hymnal Companion to the Prayer Book #469c

Page Scan

Hymnal Companion to the Prayer Book #540

Hymnal for American Sunday Schools #d9

TextPage Scan

Hymnal for Church and Home #322

TextPage Scan

Hymnal for Church and Home (2nd ed.) #322

Hymnal for Sunday School and Social Worship #d8

Page Scan

Hymnal for the Sunday School #114

Hymnal for the Sunday School. Rev. #d9

Hymnal of the Church of God #272

Hymnal of the Evangelical Church. Word ed. #d27

Page Scan

Hymnal of the Methodist Episcopal Church #593

Page Scan

Hymnal of the Methodist Episcopal Church #593

Page Scan

Hymnal of the Presbyterian Church #229

Hymnal of the United States Artillery Corps #d5

Hymnal of the United States Infantry #d5

Hymnal, Church of the Brethren #d20

Text

Hymnal #471

Page Scan

Hymnal #471

Page Scan

Hymnal #604

Page Scan

Hymnal #274

Page Scan

Hymni Ecclesiae #282

Page Scan

Hymni Ecclesiae #609

Page Scan

Hymns additional to the Hymns in the Prayer Book #327

Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the use of Christians. 9th ed. #d11

Page Scan

Hymns and Chants #20

Page Scan

Hymns and Offices of Worship #182

Hymns and Psalms, Original and Modern, Selected and Revised #d18

Page Scan

Hymns and Sacred Songs #35

Hymns and Songs for Church Schools #d17

Page Scan

Hymns and Songs for Social and Sabbath Worship #397

Page Scan

Hymns and Songs for Social and Sabbath Worship. (Rev. ed.) #397

Page Scan

Hymns and Songs for the Sunday School #184

Page Scan

Hymns and Songs of Praise for Public and Social Worship #625

Hymns and Songs #d4

Hymns and Spiritual Songs #d12

Page Scan

Hymns and Spiritual Songs (New ed.) #78

Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the Use of Christians. 8th ed. #d11

Hymns and Spiritual Songs on Different Subjects #d5

Page Scan

Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Original and Selected, for the Use of Christians. (5th ed.) #B113

Page Scan

Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Original and Selected, for the Use of Christians. (8th ed.) #b113

Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Selected and Original. 7th ed. #d8

Hymns and Spiritual Songs. 1st Canadian ed. #d7

Hymns and Spirtual Songs on Different Subjects. Book 1 and 2. #d4

Page Scan

Hymns and Tunes for Prayer and Social Meetings #80

Page Scan

Hymns and Tunes for Schools #212

Page Scan

Hymns and Tunes #7

Page Scan

Hymns and Tunes #213

Page Scan

Hymns for All Christians #S2

Page Scan

Hymns for all Christians #102

Pages

Exclude 1871 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us