Fling out the banner! let it float
by George Washington Doane (1799–1859)
Representative text
As printed in The Church Hymnal (1941), no. 450 — the newest hymnal carrying it.
Verse 1
Fling out the banner! let it float Skyward and seaward, high and wide; Our glory only in the cross; Our only hope, the Crucified.
Verse 2
Fling out the banner! angels bend In anxious silence o'er the sign, And vainly seek to comprehend The wonder of the love divine.
Verse 3
Fling out the banner! sin-sick souls, That sink and perish in the strife, Shall touch in faith its radiant hem, And spring immortal into life.
Verse 4
Fling out the banner! wide and high, Seaward and skyward, let it shine; Nor skill, nor might, nor merit ours; We conquer only in that sign.