Notice in the heading, it’s “the church militant,” not “the church military!” Christians are called to battle every day against the world, the flesh and the devil. This is the spiritual warfare that is everywhere addressed throughout Scripture, and which every believer experiences continually every waking hour, whether conscious of it or not. Paul was very much aware of this battle as he wrote of this warfare in his letter to the church in Ephesus. He concluded that in the last chapter where he wrote, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
It was in this paragraph that the apostle went on to identify the spiritual armor God has provided for His people for this spirit battle. “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:14-18).
We recognize, of course, that since this is a spiritual battle, physical armament will be of no use. That has been true from the beginning, as we read in Psalm 20:7, “Some trust in chariots and some in horse, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” When we are confronted by the temptations from the world, the flesh, and the devil … guns and knives, airplanes and battleships, economic sanctions and political pressure will do us no good. It must be the sword of the Spirit working through the power of the Holy Spirit on the soul of an awakened believer that will win the battle, one in which we must not be merely defensive against these assaults, but also on the offensive to push forward in our constant pursuit of Christ-likeness.
“Onward, Christian Soldiers” has been a favorite hymn ever since it was written on June 5, 1865 by Anglican clergyman Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924). But though it was written about spiritual warfare in the life of the believer, it has been the cause of social warfare in the life of mainline churches. Because of a foolishly mistaken application to national military activities in times of war and social conflict, it has been almost completely banned from the hymnals of mainline Protestant denominations. The hymn certainly is not calling on Christians to put on helmets and pick up rifles to attack those they see as enemies, whether personal or national. It was terribly inappropriate when Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to make this his campaign song for the pursuit of the Second World War.
When the United Methodist Hymnal revision of 1989 was being planned, word reached lay members that this hymn was to be removed. That news unleashed a tsunami of protest across the denomination. Eleven thousand pieces of mail soon came pouring in to the hymnal committee, overwhelming them in their efforts. They eventually (perhaps reluctantly) bowed to the will of the people and chose to include the hymn, though only a few of the original stanzas. All this should help us focus on the real theme of the hymn: our spiritual warfare in which we are called to be good soldiers. As Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:3-4, “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”
This hymn was originally written for children who would be walking across a bridge to a nearby parish church near Yorkshire, England for Whitmonday in the church year. Baring-Gould wrote the song in only 15 minutes, with the title “A Hymn for Procession with Cross and Banners,” never intending or expecting that it would be published or become such a favorite for countless millions. How many will remember singing this as we marched to our Sunday School classrooms on a Sunday morning!
Baring-Gould was the son and heir of a noble family, with whom he traveled throughout Europe extensively throughout his childhood. He had been educated at Clare College, Cambridge, with bachelor’s and master’s degrees. But he decided on a career in the Church of England. He was ordained in 1864 at the age of 30 and became curate of the church at Hornbury Bridge. Here he rented a small apartment consisting of a single room on the ground floor, a tiny back kitchen, and a single bedroom above. The bedroom he used for an auditorium on Sunday, and he taught school in the lower room during the week. At night, before retiring, he began his writing career. Shortly after arriving at Horbury Bridge, he was to accompany several boys from his school to a children’s festival in the nearby community of St. Peters. He knew how mischievous the lads could be on a long march, so he looked for a suitable hymn for them to sing while walking on the way. Finding none, he produced these words to fit an already existing melody. They were first published later that year in the Church Times. All this helps us remember that this children’s hymn had nothing to do with the armed forces of a nation, but rather the spiritual forces of the soul.
It was in 1864, while serving at Hornbury that he wrote this hymn. It was there that the young bachelor minister saved a teenaged mill hand’s daughter, Grace Taylor, from drowning during a flood in the Calder River. He fell in love with her and sent her away to be educated. In 1867, he moved to Dalton, near Thirsk in Yorkshire. The following year, despite a considerable age gap, he married Miss Taylor and they moved on to East Mersea in Essex. He held that curacy until 1867, when he was assigned to the incumbency of Dalton, Yorkshire. The two were married for 48 years until her death. Together they raised 15 children, all but one of whom survived into adulthood.
In 1881, at the death of his father, Baring-Gould inherited his fortune and settled in the family mansion at Lew-Trenchard in North Devonshire, England, where he served as minister at his family’s home church. Throughout his life, he continued his writing. For 52 years, he penned a novel each year. In all, he published 85 books on religion, mythology, travel, poetry, folklore, history, biography, fiction, sermons, and theology, as well as books of hymns, including the well- known evening song “Now the Day Is Over.” His most famous work, the “Lives of the Saints,” covers fifteen volumes itself. In addition, he edited a quarterly review of art and literature, “The Sacristy.” The British Museum’s catalogue lists more titles by Sabine Baring-Gould than any other author of his time. And all of this he did in longhand, without a secretary. He studied and mastered several ancient, medieval, and modern languages. Along with more common languages for British scholars of the period, he learned Basque, an obscure language unrelated to any other, sufficiently well to translate a Basque Christmas carol into English as “The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came.” He died at Lew-Trenchard on January 2, 1924, just a month shy of his ninetieth birthday.
Baring-Gould’s children’s hymn, “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” is very simply constructed linguistically. Each stanza is composed of two four-verse groups (quatrains), in which the second and fourth lines rhyme with each other. The meter is straightforward, an accented syllable followed by an unaccented one, such that one can easily imagine children marching to this text. The language is child-friendly, relying on a single metaphorical image: the marchers as soldiers, related to 2 Timothy 2:3, “Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” In the first stanza, the poet sets the scene for the spiritual conflict between Jesus and the devil. Instances of personification (“hell’s foundations” quiver in stanza two) and exaggeration (“This through countless ages” in stanza five) are strengthened by subtler devices, such as the intensification of elements in stanza four (from “crowns and thrones” to “kingdoms” to the “church of Jesus”), which create a remarkably engaging text.
The refrain should not bring to our mind 12th century medieval Crusaders marching to Jerusalem to drive the infidels out of the Holy Land any more than it should suggest the scene of Civil War soldiers engaging one another at Gettysburg or American troops pushing through the jungles of Vietnam. No, it’s the scene of children marching on their way to church to learn more of the stories of the Bible that will help them throughout their lives to resist the pressures that will come with increasing power from the world, the flesh, and the devil. And of course it’s not just children who are called to battle. This is the marching song for all of us throughout our lives, even to old age, as we fight against whatever will pull us away from our task to advance the Great Commission, and to grow in personal holiness. It is “the cross of Jesus” that we must ever keep before us, since, as we sing in a more recent song, “the battle is the Lord’s.”
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before.
Stanza 1 is a call to enter the battle, one which Paul called “good warfare” in 1 Timothy 1:18. Christ is our “royal Master” who is marching ahead of us against our foe, leading not only us, but also “the armies of heaven” (Revelation 19:11-14). And just as soldiers fighting in a war need a banner around which to rally (Psalm 60:4), so as we go forward into battle, we rally round the spiritual banner of Christ, which is His cross (Galatians 6:14).
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
with the cross of Jesus going on before:
Christ the royal Master leads against the foe;
forward into battle, see, his banners go.
Stanza 2 assures us of the victory that Scripture promises against our mortal enemy, Satan, who though a constant adversary (the “roaring lion” of 1 Peter 5:8), has already been defeated at the cross and empty tomb. Still, we must fight against him every day as he rallies “the principalities and powers of evil in heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:10-12) to oppose Christ and His kingdom. But since Jesus has already won the decisive battle, so that “Satan’s host must flee” and “hell’s foundations quiver,” we are assured of victory and can shout our loud anthems of praise at the prospect of winning (Psalm 100:1-2).
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.
Stanza 3 reminds us of the unity we have as this “mighty army” moves forward. The army is the whole “church of God” which Jesus has purchased with His precious blood (Acts 20:28). We are part of a brotherhood of saints that spans all ages. While there are many differences among us, “we are not divided” (1 Corinthians 1:10) but are “all one body” (Ephesians 4:1-6) “one in hope and doctrine” (all holding fast to the same truths), and “one in charity,” loving one another as we are “weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:15-18).
Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod;
we are not divided, all one body we,
one in hope and doctrine, one in charity.
Stanza 4 further emphasizes that in our warfare we have continuity with the saints of all ages. This stanza, which is almost universally omitted today, might be objected to on the grounds that it seems to be based on the idea of the ecclesiastical authority of history, but if we understand “what the saints established” to refer to those saints who revealed God’s word in the first century by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and “what the saints believed” to refer to those saints to whom it was revealed, then we can sing the stanza as reminiscent of Paul’s statement to the Galatians about the gospel which the apostles and prophets preached and which the early Christians received (Galatians 1:8-9). This is that faith, “once for all delivered to the saints” that men will hold as long as earth endures (Jude 3). This is in contrast to the “kingdoms, nations, empires” which will be “in destruction rolled” (Revelation 11:15).
What the saints established that I hold for true.
What the saints believèd, that I believe too.
Long as earth endureth, men the faith will hold,
Kingdoms, nations, empires, in destruction rolled.
Stanza 5 strengthens that solid foundation for our faith in these unsettled and anxiety-causing times with the assurance that while “crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,” something that we see happening over and again through history, “the church of Jesus constant will remain” and shall never perish (Daniel 2:44). The battle is real as the gates of hell threaten to resist the advance of the gospel, but Jesus has promised that they will not be able to prevail against the kingdom He is building (Matthew 16:18). And we can have assurance in this fact because Christ Himself has promised it, and we can trust His promises (2 Peter 1:3-4).
Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
but the church of Jesus constant will remain;
gates of hell can never ’gainst that church prevail;
we have Christ’s own promise, and that cannot fail.
Stanza 6 wraps all those assurances together into this grand conclusion, which we can imagine being sung by those children that Baring-Gould had by this time then led across the bridge to the nearby church. They could sing to one another, just as we can today, “Onward, then, ye people, join our happy throng.” It’s a chorus of victory (1 Corinthians 15:57) as we blend our voices “in the triumph song,” giving “glory, laud, and honor unto Christ the King” (Revelation 5:11-12). And so, having fought the good fight of the faith, along with the angels we can all lay hold of eternal life through the “countless ages” (1 Timothy 6:12).
Onward, then, ye people, join our happy throng,
blend with ours your voices in the triumph song;
glory, laud, and honor unto Christ the King;
this through countless ages men and angels sing.
Throughout its history, “Onward, Christian Soldiers” has been associated with two tunes. In Baring-Gould’s procession, it was sung to ST. ALBAN, an adaptation of the third movement of Haydn’s “Symphony No.15 in D Major.” That tune is simply constructed, with an exact repetition of the first eight measures for the refrain. It, like the text, lends itself well to usage by children, and it was to this tune that “Onward” was published in the 1868 edition of “Hymns Ancient and Modern.”
In 1871, Sabine-Gould showed his marching poem to his good friend, Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842-1900). It was Sullivan who composed the tune (ST GERTRUDE) that we know and use today. He did so while visiting in the home of Mrs. Gertrude Clay-Ker-Seymour, who was then a twenty-nine year-old organist. Sullivan went on to become a well-known British composer of light operas, the Sullivan of Gilbert and Sullivan fame. The tune first appeared in the “Musical Times” of December, 1871, and was then published in the 1872 London hymnbook “The Hymnary.”
Sullivan’s tune had a transformative effect on “Onward, Christian Soldiers.” The frequent repeated notes that build up toward the rhythmic activity and “oompah” bass of the refrain match the perceived militarism of the text and work to invoke such a sentiment in the singer. Sung to ST. ALBAN, one can assume a certain innocence. With ST. GERTRUDE, one cannot ignore the overtones of militant energy that better match the text.
Here is a link to the joyful singing of this fine hymn.