The Son of God Goes Forth to War

I come across this hymn the other day in the treasury of daily prayer. I was quite stuck my verse three:

A glorious band, the chosen few
on whom the Spirit came;
twelve valiant saints, their hope they knew,
and mocked the cross and flame.
They met the tyrant's brandished steel,
the lion's gory mane;
they bowed their heads the death to feel:
who follows in their train?

LSB 661:3

I think this is a traditional hymn for All Saints Day. It really brought to my mind all those who have suffered and are suffering for the name of Christ. My comfort as a Christian is an abnormal comfort as experienced throughout the history of the Church. God's Word brings comfort, but it must kill first. Daily we are called to die and rise with Christ as his word encounters us, crushing us and restoring us.