Words: (1702-1751); pub­lished post­hu­mous­ly in Hymns Found­ed on Var­i­ous Texts in the Ho­ly Script­ures, by Job Or­ton (J. Ed­dowes and J. Cot­ton, 1755).

Music: Christ­mas, , from the op­era Cir­oë (Cy­rus), 1728; ar­ranged in Har­mon­ia Sac­ra, 1812.


Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve,
And press with vigor on;
A heavenly race demands thy zeal,
And an immortal crown,
And an immortal crown.

A cloud of witnesses around
Hold thee in full survey;
Forget the steps already trod,
And onward urge thy way,
And onward urge thy way.

’Tis God’s all animating voice
That calls thee from on high;
’Tis His own hand presents the prize
To thine aspiring eye,
To thine aspiring eye.

Then wake, my soul, stretch every nerve,
And press with vigor on,
A heavenly race demands thy zeal,
And an immortal crown,
And an immortal crown.