I LOVE those earnest saints of old
Who liv’d in Mary’s reign;
Firm, steadfast souls, whom faith made bold,
Who counted Christ their gain.
Th’ensnaring words of wily men
They scatter’d with a breath;
They dared the dungeon, rack, and chain,
And braved the fiery death.
O worthy of the Martyr’s name,
Those men and women too;
To keep the faith, they faced the flame,
And shunn’d no earthly woe.
They gladly bore a death of shame,
To prove their faithful love;
And Jesus owns each honor’d name
Before the throne above.
And when His glorious day has come,
The crown of life they’ll wear;
While all His foes shall meet their doom,
And perish in despair.
O, deepen in us, Lord, Thy love,
And strengthen us in faith;
That we, like them, may faithful prove,
In patient life or death.