SELF-DENIAL; OR TAKING UP THE CROSS.
ASHAMED of Christ!—my soul, disdain
The mean, ungen’rous thought:
Shall I disown that friend, whose blood
To man salvation brought? With the glad news of love and peace,
From heaven to earth he came:
For us endured the painful cross—
For us, despised the shame. At his command, we must take up
Our cross without delay:
Our lives—and thousand lives of ours—
Can ne'er his love repay. Each faithful suff'rer Jesus views
With infinite delight:
Their lives to him are dear; their deaths
Are precious in his sight. To bear his name—his cross to bear—
Our highest honor this!
Who nobly suffers now for him,
Shall reign with him in bliss. But should we, in the evil day,
From our profession fly,—
Jesus, the Judge, before the world,
The traitor will deny.