1. No one can ever reach the eternal rest,
Who hath not forward with strong vigor pressed;
No one can ever reach that shining goal,
Unless he forward press with heart and soul.
His urgent strife must last until the end;
On this alone our hopes must all depend.
2. Narrow the gate is called, the way named Small,
But grace and choice are free for one and all;
But all depends on pressing, pressing on;
By that alone the haven can be won.
Make strong, yea, strong resistance, O my soul!
To all that comes between thee and thy goal.
3. Gainst every hindrance fight. Stand firm! stand steady!
For those who forward press the crown is ready.
If you the joys of heaven would ever taste,
Press forward past each hindrance. Be in haste;
Leave, leave, O leave the wiles of all the world,
Thy banner of resistance still unfurled!
4. When the world calls thee, “Come and with us go,”
Do not obey; that pathway leads to woe.
What the world asks, refuse at any cost,
If you comply, dear soul, you will be lost.
For love of Christ I offer this advice:
Strive in God’s strength; this is the crown’s own price.
5. To every hindrance make resistance strong;
The crown is worth the strife, however long.
The heaven of glory is worth all thy life,
Worth all thy praying, longing, all thy strife.
No disappointment in that realm can live,
The crown is worth all longing thou canst give.
6. Therefore wake up, and sharply look around,
Make ready for the judgment’s trumpet sound;
For wedding garment, pure and white and whole,
Will be required of every suppliant soul
Who seeks an entrance to that city fair;
Therefore awaken, and thyself prepare.
7. You cannot anchor on that heavenly shore,
Nor enter in that land “prepared before,”
Unless you have the offered life of faith;
For this the Scripture very plainly saith.
‘Tis faith alone that can the sinner save,
And ransom you from out the cruel grave.
8. Then listen, dear, and rise from thy sad fall;
God’s grace abundant is, and free for all.
Believe, repent, and hear the Saviour say,
In words of beauty, “This, this is the way.”
The world is all invited, let all come,
And take by force a crown within that home.
9. The Lord is willing, anxious to bestow
This gift on all who in his way will go.
Spare not thyself the struggle, but press on,
And soon, full soon, the victory will be won.
God’s hand doth seek thy soul; he’ll give thee rest;
Jesus is knocking, seeking for thy best.
Wake! ’tis God’s Spirit that disturbs thy sleep;
They only will be saved who vigils keep.
– Boquist and Walbom
This hymn was recorded in J.N. Loughborough’s book, “The Great Second Advent Movement: It’s Rise and Progress.” It is a hymn sung by two Swedish young men who proclaimed the Advent message in 1843, and were arrested and put in prison for doing so. They sang this hymn as they walked out of the prison. The version above is an english translation. The whole story is interesting and I’ve included it below:
Boquist’s Testimony
In the Review and Herald of Oct. 7, 1890, is a very interesting narrative in regard to the children’s preaching, written by O. Boquist himself. He says:-“In the year 1843 a religious movement occurred among the people in Karlskoga Parish, in Orebro Laen. The leaders in this movement were children and young men, who were called ‘rapare.’ These preached with divine power, and proclaimed before the people, with great decision, that the hour of God’s judgment had come.
“In the fall of the same year, I, O. Boquist, then fifteen years of age, with another young man, Erik Walbom, eighteen years of age, became so influenced by this unseen power that we could in nowise resist it. As soon as we were seized by this heavenly power, we began to speak to the people, and to proclaim with a loud voice that the judgement hour had come, referring them to Joel 2:28-32 and Rev. 14:6, 7.
Children in Vision
The people informed me that those who were thus influenced by this heavenly power were lost to everything around them. They were actually in vision from God, and spoke with a power that carried a mighty convicting influence. They said that these little children, while under that influence, would speak with the force and dignity of full-grown men and women. So those who saw it were led to conclude that it was the Lord using them prophetically to utter these solemn truths. The writer continues:-“The people congregated in large numbers to listen to us, and our meetings continued both day and night, and a great religious awakening was the result. Young and old were touched by the Spirit of God, and cried to the Lord for mercy confessing their sins before God and man.
“But when the priest in the church was apprised of this, many efforts were put forth to silence us, and thus to stop the prevailing religious excitement; but all efforts were unavailing. The sheriff was then requested to cause our arrest, and during six weeks a fruitless search was made to find us in the forest, whither we had fled for refuge.
“Finally, however, we were summoned to appear before the pastor of the church. Our number had increased so that forty young men and women presented themselves at the parsonage, where we were submitted to a long trial. All but myself and Walbom were permitted to return to their homes; but we were arrested, and on the following day were placed in custody in the Orebro prison, where we were associated with thieves in cell 14, as though we had committed some great crime.”
Boquist’s Sister’s Testimony
On Sept. 22, 1896, the sister of Boquist, seventy-two years of age, attended our meeting at Orebro, and told us about the experience of her brother; for she witnessed his whipping, imprisonment, and liberation. She sang for us the hymn that Boquist and Walbom sang as they walked out of the prison on to the bridge over the moat surrounding that sixteenth century castle, used in 1843 as a prison. The power of the 1843 movement accompanied the testimony and the singing of the hymn.
