Words: In the Roman Breviary, 1632 (Christo profusum sanguinem); translated from Latin to English by and the compilers of Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861. Music: Constance (Gauntlett), , 1861. |
Ye servants of our glorious King,
To Him your thankful praises bring;
And tell the deeds that grace has done,
The triumphs by His martyrs won.
Since they were faithful to the last,
Their holy struggles now are past;
The bitterness of death is o’er,
And theirs is bliss forevermore.
The flame might scorch, the knife lay bare,
And cruel beasts their members tear;
No powers of earth, no powers of hell
The souls that loved their Lord could quell.
Forever broken is the chain
That sought to bind them, but in vain;
O let us strive like them to win
Our freedom from the bonds of sin.
O Savior, may our portion be
With those who gave themselves to Thee,
Through all eternity to sing
All praise to Thee, the martyrs’ King.