To be a Pilgrim

"To be a Pilgrim" is a hymn written by John Bunyan. It first appeared in Part 2 of Pilgrim's Progress, written in 1684 while he was serving a twelve-year sentence in Bedford Gaol on a charge of preaching without a licence. It recalls Hebrews 11:13: ". . .and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."

The words were set to the traditional Sussex "Monk's Gate" tune by Vaughan Williams. It has also been sung to the tune "Moab" (John Ro­berts, 1870) and St. Dun­stans (Charles W. Doug­las, 1917).

Who would true valour see,
Let him come hither;
One here will constant be,
Come wind, come weather.
There's no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent,
To be a pilgrim.

Whoso beset him round
With dismal stories
Do but themselves confound;
His strength the more is.
No lion can him fright,
He'll with a giant fight,
But he will have a right
To be a pilgrim.

Hobgoblin, nor foul fiend,
Can daunt his spirit:
He knows, he at the end
Shall life inherit.
Then fancies fly away,
He'll fear not what men say,
He'll labour night and day
To be a pilgrim.

John Bunyan also wrote The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come (published 1678), an allegorical novel regarded as one of the greatest literary classics, written while he was imprisoned in 1675 for violations of the Conventicle Act, which prohibited the holding of religious services outside the auspices of the established Church of England.

Resources: 
Inner Journeys: Meditations and shamanic journeys
CD ROMs: Interactive virtual visits
Pilgrim's Journal: Pilgrimage accounts
Pilgrim Blessings.