Once to Every Man and Nation

Once to ev­ery man and na­tion

Comes the mo­ment to de­cide

In the strife of truth with false­hood

For the good or ev­il side;

Some great cause

some great de­ci­sion

Offering each the bloom or blight

And the choice goes by for­ev­er

’Twixt that dark­ness and that light.

Then to side with truth is no­ble

When we share her wretch­ed crust

Ere her cause bring fame and pro­fit

And ’tis pros­per­ous to be just;

Then it is the brave man choos­es

While the cow­ard stands aside

Till the mul­ti­tude make vir­tue

Of the faith they had de­nied.

By the light of burn­ing mar­tyrs

Christ

Thy bleed­ing feet we track

Toiling up new Cal­v’ries ev­er

With the cross that turns not back;

New oc­ca­sions teach new du­ties

Time makes an­cient good un­couth

They must up­ward still and on­ward

Who would keep abreast of truth.

Though the cause of ev­il pros­per

Yet the truth alone is strong;

Though her por­tion be the scaf­fold

And up­on the throne be wrong;

Yet that scaf­fold sways the fu­ture

And be­hind the dim un­known

Standeth God with­in the sha­dow

Keeping watch above His own.