Faith Is the Victory

The Story Behind "Faith Is the Victory"

“Encamped Along the Hills” was written by John Henry Yates in 1891. According to a profile republished on Hymnary.org, Yates was born in Batavia, New York, and worked in many industries, from shoemaking to hardware sales. Throughout his life, he edited a local newspaper. However, he became best known for writing poetry, a vocation he began practicing in his early twenties.

Yates’ work as a poet took a crucial turn in 1891 when he met Ira D. Sankey, a musician who often wrote music to accompany hymnists’ lyrics. Sankey recalls in his book Sankey’s Story of the Gospel Hymns and of Sacred Songs and Solos that he met Yates during a visit to Batavia. He recognized Yates as the writer of a ballad, “The Model Church,” Sankey had read in a newspaper. Sankey encouraged Yates to write more gospel songs, which led to them collaborating on “Faith Is the Victory,” “The Harbor Bell,” and others.

Yates published over 130 of his writings (mostly poems and ballads, but also over a dozen hymns) in his 1897 collection Poems and Ballads, released just three years before he died. Thomas William Herringshaw reports in Local and National Poets of America that, in addition to writing “over two hundred” poems and having a large family, Yates was also a minister for a local Methodist church in Batavia.

Scripture References in "Faith Is the Victory"

The Bible is filled with passages describing the importance of faith, or God’s followers engaging in battle against dark spiritual forces. Yates’ hymn particularly quotes five biblical passages.

The reference to Christians living on “holy hills” alludes to God or his holy city standing on a hill or mountain. For example, the King James Version of Psalm 24:3 reads, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?”

Stephen J. Brammer and Kenneth O. Gangel suggest in their study on Genesis for the Holman Old Testament Commentary series that the chorus quotes from 1 John 5.

“In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:3-4 NIV, emphasis added)

Others have noted the reference to “banners of love” quotes from Song of Solomon 2:4: “Let him lead me to the banquet hall, and let his banner over me be love” (NIV).

The reference to faith being our “shining shield” and the Word of God being our sword to fight evil paraphrases Ephesians 6:17. In this passage (Ephesians 6:10-17), written by the apostle Peter while he was imprisoned (likely chained hand and foot to a Roman soldier in his cell), he uses armor imagery to describe the spiritual attributes we deliberately practice or seek, such as “the shield of faith” to fight enemy attacks, and carrying “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (NIV).

The detail about faithful people receiving “white raiments” references Revelation 6:11, in which Christians who have died for God’s name go to heaven and “each of them was given a white robe” (NIV).

Scripture Lessons in Faith Is the Victory

“Faith Is the Victory” offers several critical lessons for listeners today.

The battle imagery in “Faith is the Victory” highlights how the Christian life is an ongoing fight against spiritual evil. We experience pain caused by human actions, but our true battle is against spiritual threats, the “powers and principalities” tempting us to stray from God (Ephesians 6:12). Christians are called to seek spiritual maturity, fight temptation, and seek restoration in the world as part of our fight against darkness.

The reference to Christians standing on hills is battle imagery (whoever has the high ground wins a battle), but also underlines how following God places people on spiritual high ground (i.e., safe territory).

Song of Solomon may seem an odd inclusion in a hymn about faith. We often remember it as the book celebrating marital love, and that is certainly true. However, it is also filled with images that symbolize God’s love for his people. “Faith Is the Victory” therefore reminds us that we have an intimate relationship with God through faith, that he loves and guides us personally.

The Revelation 6 reference at the end of “Faith Is the Victory” offers an apocalyptic ending, although maybe not in the way we think. Apocalypse means “unveiling,” and while apocalyptic books like Revelation talk about the end of the world, they focus more on giving us a cosmic vision of what God will do to restore all things. Scholars debate how to interpret specific details in the Revelation 6 passage (how many followers receiving white coats? When do they die?), but the main lesson is simpler. The passage describes God honoring the faithful, reminding us to be patient and expect our rewards in heaven.
 

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