He Who Would Valiant Be
I n P raise
of H ymn
1
2
3
He who would valiant be ’gainst all
disaster,
Let him in constancy follow the Master.
There’s no discouragement shall make
him once relent
His first avowed intent to be a pilgrim.
Who so beset him round with dismal
stories
Do but themselves confound - his
strength the more is.
No foes shall stay his might; though he
with giants fight,
He will make good his right to be a
pilgrim.
Since, Lord, Thou dost defend us with
Thy Spirit,
We know we at the end, shall life
inherit.
Then fancies flee away! I’ll fear not what
men say,
I’ll labor night and day to be a pilgrim.
Reviewing Great Christian Hymns
John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress 1684; modified by Percy Dearmer in
The English Hymnal (London: Oxford University Press, 1906). Bunyan
wrote these words during his 12-year prison sentence for refusing to
conform to the official state church.
http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/h/e/w/hewhowvb.htm
“To Be a Pilgrim” (also commonly known as “He who would Valiant be”)
is the only hymn John Bunyan is credited with writing, and is indelibly
associated with him. ... The hymn recalls the words of Hebrews 11:13:
“...and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Be_a_Pilgrim
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April - June 2017