Faith of Our Fathers

151 Faith of Our Fathers

1 Faith of our fathers! living still,
   In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;
   O how our hearts beat high with joy
   Whene’er we hear that glorious word!

Refrain:
   Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
   We will be true to thee till death.

2 Our fathers, chained in prison dark,
   Were still in heart and conscience free:
   How sweet would be their children's fate,
   If they, like them, could die for thee! [Refrain]

3 Faith of our fathers! we will love
   Both friend and foe in all our strife:
   And preach thee, too, as love knows how,
   By kindly words and virtuous life: [Refrain]
                         Frederick W. Faber
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
OK, definitely not the most inclusive language hymn ever written! I've seen the "faith of our fathers" changed to various different things: "faith of the martyrs," "faith of our mothers," "faith of our sisters," "faith born of God," ad infinitum. Hey, it's a period piece. Overlook, if you can, the sexist language and learn the theology (and enough history to know that inclusive language is a relatively new thing).

That being said, I can't ever think of this song without hearing Bing Crosby's voice. He sang it on one of his numerous Christmas albums, and we happen to have that one...
</idle musing>