Sabine Baring-Gould and Arthur Sullivan composed this hymn. The words were written by Sabine Baring-Gould in 1865 while the music to the song was added in 1871 by Arthur Sullivan. Arthur Sullivan added the tune of the song at his friend Ernest Clay Ker Seymer’s house. This later made him name his tune “St. Gertrude” after his friend’s wife. This hymn is one of the commonly known gospel hymns, derived from the New Testament, where Christians are sometimes referred to as soldiers of Jesus Christ. This can be seen in verses such as II Timothy 2:3 (KJV): "Thou, therefore, endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." The hymn was originally meant for the procession with the cross by children who walked from Horbury Bridge to Horbury St Peter's Church near Wakefield, Yorkshire, at Whitsuntide in 1865. This hymn was originally titled, "Hymn for Procession with Cross and Banners" and Baring-Gould composed it in five minutes. He was later repo
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