Believe not those who say
The upward path is smooth,
Lest thou should stumble in the way,
And faint before the truth.

It is the only road
Unto the realms of joy;
But he who seeks that blest abode
Must all his powers employ.

To labor and to love,
To pardon and endure,
To lift thy heart to God above,
And keep thy conscience pure.

Be this thy constant aim,
Thy hope, thy chief delight,
What matter who should whisper blame
Or who should scorn or slight.

What matters—if God approve,
And if within thy breast,
Thou feel the comfort of His love,
The earnest of His rest?

Master, we Thy footsteps follow,
We Thy Word obey,
Hear us, Thy dear Name confessing,
While we pray.

Now into Thy death baptizèd,
We ourselves would be
Dead to all the sin that made
Thy Calvary.

Rising with Thee, make us like Thee,
In Thy love and care,
In Thy zeal, and in Thy labor,
And Thy prayer.

Let the love that knows no failing
Cast out all our fears,
Let Thy pure and faithful Spirit
Fill our years.

Till we hear the trumpets sounding
On the other side,
And forever, in Thy Heaven
We abide.

No cross for me, O blessèd Lord and Savior?
No cross for me, when Thou Thine own didst bear,
At midnight hour within the garden kneeling,
While pitying stars beheld Thy anguish there.

Refrain

There is a cross, and gladly I accept it;
There is a warfare with a host of sin;
But Thou has op’d the gate of life eternal,
And Thou wilt let Thine own dear children in.

No cross for me, when Thou the King of glory,
The Well-Beloved, the Father’s only Son,
Didst with Thy blood atone for all transgressions?
For Thou hast tasted death for ev’ry one.

Refrain

No cross for me? shall I on Pisgah’s mountain
Content abide, from care and trial free?
Ah, no, but thro’ the wilderness of sorrow,
Tho’ pierced with thorns, my feet shall follow Thee!

Refrain

“Take up the cross if thou art My disciple!”
Deep in my soul I hear Thy words of love:
“Take up the cross, and when the war is over,
Home, rest, and crown, with endless joy above!”

Refrain

In token that thou shalt not fear
Christ crucified to own,
We print the cross upon thee here,
And stamp thee His alone.

In token that thou shalt not blush
To glory in His Name,
We blazon here upon thy front
His glory and His shame.

In token that thou shalt not flinch
Christ’s quarrel to maintain,
But ’neath His banner manfully
Firm at thy post remain.

In token that thou too shalt tread
The path He traveled by,
Endure the cross, despise the shame,
And sit thee down on high.

Thus outwardly and visibly
We seal thee for His own;
And may the brow that wears His cross
Hereafter share His crown.