01.25. Excerpt5 - The Martyr's Crown

Excerpt5 - The Martyr’s Crown The saints of old were beaten, tried,
Condemned and even crucified.
These martyr men beat no retreat
When flames were licking at their feet.
They saw the tyrants’ brandished steel,
But still they offered no appeal.
They struck no bargain for their lives,
For their children or their wives;
All slowly roasted in the flames
While angels wrote each of their names
Within a book God calls His own,
To be proclaimed before His throne.
Then we shall know of their renown
When each receives his martyr’s crown,
When God shall say to them, "Well done -
You ran the race, pressed on, and won
When in that race men said ’Insane!’
But now I gladly own your name.
Now you are home - come dwell with Me
In joy through all eternity."