Verse 1

Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
Christ, the royal Master,
leads again the foe;
Forward into battle,
see his banner go!

Refrain

Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!

Verse 2

At the sign of triumph
Satan’s host doth flee;
On, then, Christian soldiers,
on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver
at the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices,
loud your anthems raise!

If you pay attention at all to the categories I assign these entries, you’ll note that this one is listed as a forgotten gem. To clarify that decision, I would like to say that I think this hymn is still widely known and I’m sure in many circles still sung with great vigor and joy. That being said I think that the true meaning behind the song is what has been forgotten.

At some point in the 1990’s the militant image of the Church started being swept under the rug. In the 2000’s it was considered tacky or possibly even extremist. Now, speaking of the Church as an army brings to mind holy war, extremist fundamentalism and terrorism. It is sad really. The image of the Church as God’s army is one given to us by scriptures and it carries with it some important messages for us.

No song I know better captures that meaning than Onward, Christian Soldiers. The marching beat and triumphant melody pair perfectly with the lyrics describing the fear of our enemies, our weapon of choice, and our goal for becoming victorious. If you can’t name what each of those are without reading back through the lyrics, then you’ve proven my point about this being lost to the ravages of time and memory. Let’s break down each piece:

Enemy: As the Church, who should our enemy be? “Satan’s hosts” and even Hell itself. The modern take on Christian evangelicalism is that our enemies are people or institutions that don’t agree with us. That is not what God has commanded us to fight against. We fight against something more powerful than any government or people group. In fact, even governments we don’t agree with ought to be respected in so far as they don’t force us to blaspheme God. Remember, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.”

Weapon: Guess what? This song about a marching army following our master into battle is not violent in the least. No swords, no guns, not even angry looks. Instead, we as soldiers are given a very specific tool: “Brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise!” “Blend with ours your voices in the triumph song.” We are to sing praises. Just think about that. What if on Sunday every Christian left church singing God’s praises, not getting angry and yelling at other cars? Or how about praising god by helping another? Could we even praise God by giving Him our loyalty first instead of a politician or sports team?

Victory: While ultimate victory is in God’s hand, this song does give us an idea about what results, mini-victories if you will, we ought to be looking for. First, we can look forward to unity within the Church. Not buddy-buddy kind of stuff, but true community with one another. The other result is others wanting to join us and sing. The song recognizes that it is our joy, our togetherness, and our praise that draws people in.

We have to love others to be God’s soldier.

We have to praise unceasingly to be in God’s army.

SDG,

Paul Hart Cochran