Forward, soldiers of Christ, fight against the powers of darkness! Follow the cross of Jesus,
faithfully and steadfastly! Your King Himself leads the way; march on,
following the radiant banner!

Chorus:
Forward, soldiers of Christ, fight against the powers of darkness! Follow the cross of Jesus,
truly and steadfastly!

Etc.…

Christians love to fight; they love to march out onto the battlefield—not physically, but spiritually. The Christian battle is not against one’s fellow man, but against the powers of darkness—namely, the Devil and his armies. Throughout the centuries, no hymn has been more effective in stirring the hearts of believers in their struggle than the one recounted in this chapter. It is fitting that this hymn should be called ‘The Christian March’. Its author was Sabine Baring-Gould, who was born in England in 1834. His wealthy family ensured he received a fine education—in England, Germany and France.

Evangelical Minister

When Sabine Baring-Gould graduated from university in 1864, he heeded God’s call to become a minister. The first church he pastored was a small, impoverished congregation. Most of its members were factory workers and coal miners. Prior to his ministry, very little effort had been made to evangelise the poor people in that area.

Rev. Baring-Gould rented a small house with just two rooms downstairs and another in the attic. Every evening he taught a school in the downstairs room for the workers, who could only study at night. Every week he held a service in the upstairs room.

Occasionally, some rough characters would try to disrupt the evening classes. Fortunately, Rev. Baring-Gould had a capable assistant teacher: a bald, elderly coal-mine worker. Whenever there was a commotion, the elderly man, who was still strong, would immediately come out, cracking a few hard-shelled nuts in his hands. Furiously, he would shout: “Watch out, or I’ll crack your head open just like I’m cracking these hard nuts!”

The number of people attending the service in the upstairs room grew steadily. Some sat on the stairs; others sat in the downstairs room. When singing, those upstairs, on the stairs and downstairs would sometimes each follow their own rhythm.

Yet Rev. Baring-Gould was delighted. He was happy to stand on a chair in front of the stove in that small kitchen, so that he could be seen and heard by most of those present. For the majority of them, this was the first time they had heard the Good News about Jesus Christ.

A Beautiful Love Story

Whilst Rev. Baring-Gould was ministering in that poor village, he fell in love with a girl named Grace Taylor. Grace was the daughter of a factory worker. On one occasion, when the river was in flood, the brave minister rescued Grace, who had been swept away by the current and was nearly drowned.

On the advice of Grace’s parents, Rev. Baring-Gould paid for his fiancée to go elsewhere and attend school there. Once her education was deemed sufficient for a pastor’s wife, she was called home for their wedding blessing at the church. For many years, Sabine and Grace built a happy Christian home. They were blessed with fifteen children. In their later years, Mrs Baring-Gould suffered from a disability, and her husband employed a private nurse to care for her. When his beloved wife passed away, he had the words ‘Half My Soul’ inscribed on her gravestone in Latin.

A Hard-Working Man 

In 1867, Rev. Baring-Gould left that poor village and moved to a church elsewhere. Five years later, he inherited an estate from his father, complete with its surrounding hamlets. For the remainder of his remarkably long life, he served as both a landowner and the local minister.

Throughout his life, which spanned 90 years (until 1924), Rev. Baring-Gould remained a diligent worker. He authored as many as 85 books—on religion, travel, customs, folktales, history, novels and biographies. He also translated books from Danish, compiled two collections of hymns, and published a quarterly magazine on religious art and literature. He undertook all of this work in his own hand, without the assistance of a secretary or scribe.

Someone once asked: “How can you, Reverend, manage so many tasks?”

He replied: “The secret is that I work diligently until the task is finished. There’s no need to wait for the right moment to get on with things.”

Very few of the books written by Sabine Baring-Gould are still read by God’s people today. Yet his name is still remembered, owing to several hymns he composed and translated. Foremost amongst these is the hymn featured in this chapter.

Religious Processions

In 1865, whilst Rev. Baring-Gould was still pastoring a small church in a village of factory and coal-mine workers, a major religious festival was to be celebrated. Schoolchildren from the village were to march to a nearby village and join the children from the church there in a sort of religious procession.

Rev. Baring-Gould wanted the children to sing as they marched. But he had not yet found a Christian hymn suitable for the occasion.

The night before the procession, he lay awake until late into the night. His thoughts drifted far away to the United States, where a devastating Civil War was raging. He also reflected on how, the following day, the schoolchildren would be wearing their uniforms, making them look like a small army. He imagined how the older pupils would march at the front, carrying a banner bearing the cross of Jesus.

Inspired by such thoughts, in the space of just a quarter of an hour Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould penned the words that would later become famous. The very next day, the children sang the new song. Within just four years, the chosen song had been published, both in the United Kingdom and in the United States. Today, Christians all over the world sing it.

A Versatile Musician

What about the music? Rev. Baring-Gould himself composed a melody for his own lyrics. But that music was soon forgotten. The song’s most famous version today is the composition by Arthur S. Sullivan (1842–1900).

When Arthur Sullivan was a child, he sang in a boys’ choir at church services which were often graced by the presence of the Queen of England herself. Arthur later studied music in both England and Germany. He became a church organist, a professor of music at a university, and the conductor of a symphony orchestra.

Arthur Sullivan began composing music when he was just 20 years old. Most of his compositions were sacred music. Strangely enough, however, his most famous works are the comic operas he created in collaboration with William S. Gilbert. Indeed, in English, the term ‘Gilbert and Sullivan’ is still commonly used today as a nickname for light-hearted musical comedies.

In 1871, Arthur Sullivan visited the home of some wealthy friends. He mentioned that he had composed a new tune for a famous song by Sabine Baring-Gould, but had not yet had time to write it down.

His friends followed him into a small chapel within their home. There, using a small organ, Arthur Sullivan taught them a tune that is now heard everywhere whenever people sing ‘The Christian March’.

Quoted from: H.L. A Detailed History of Selected Hymns from the Hymnal, Volume 1. LLB.