Take up thy cross, the Sav­ior said,
If thou wouldst My dis­ci­ple be;
Deny thy­self, the world for­sake,
And hum­bly fol­low af­ter Me.

Take up thy cross, let not its weight
Fill thy weak spi­rit with alarm;
His strength shall bear thy spi­rit up,
And brace thy heart and nerve thine arm.

Take up thy cross, nor heed the shame,
Nor let thy fool­ish pride re­bel;
Thy Lord for thee the cross en­dured,
And saved thy soul from death and hell.

Take up thy cross then in His strength,
And calm­ly sin’s wild del­uge brave,
’Twill guide thee to a bet­ter home,
It points to glo­ry o’er the grave.

Take up thy cross and fol­low Christ,
Nor think til death to lay it down;
For on­ly those who bear the cross
May hope to wear the glo­ri­ous crown.

To Thee, great Lord, the One in Three,
All praise for­ev­er­more as­cend:
O grant us in our home to see
The hea­ven­ly life that knows no end.