From 212 Victory Poems.
Would I? Would You?
One day in loved Jerusalem,
There rushed a shrieking, maddened crowd
Upon a lowly, kneeling form,
Before his God and Savior bowed;
And when with cruel stones they crushed
His beautiful and gentle life,
He prayed the Father to forgive
Their ignorance and raging strife;
This man was Stephen, lo, a Jew
Who died for Christ.
Would I? Would you?
See! Far upon a lonely isle
An aged man with snowy locks,
Exiled to labor in the mines,
His only temple wind-swept rocks;
Ah, once he leaned on Jesus’ breast,
And gazed with fond adoring eyes
Into that face, where love divine
Still beams upon us from the skies;
This man was John, beloved, a Jew,
Witness for Christ.
Am I? Are you?
A Galilean fisher stood
Amid a fierce and angry throng;
No tremor spoke of hidden fear;
His face was peaceful, calm, and strong;
And then they nailed him to a cross,
As they had nailed his blessed Lord,
He gloried thus to die for Christ,
And counted it a rich reward;
This man was Peter, lo, a Jew
Who died for Christ.
Would I? Would you?
A captive bound was brought one day
To Nero’s judgment seat at Rome;
For Christ he wore the heavy chain,
For Christ he had no wealth nor home;
The noblest martyr Rome could boast
Of all the thousands that she slew,
The great apostle, sent by God
To Gentiles with the message true;
This man was Paul, e’en Paul the Jew,
Who died for Christ.
Would I? Would you?