CHRISTIAN LIFE: The Last Words of a Soldier
“Just Praise and Pray and Peg Away!”
In his epistle to the Galatians, Paul encourages the believers to persevere in the Lord’s service. “Let us not be weary in well doing,” he writes, “for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not,” (Gal.6:9). From his own intensive labours for the Lord, Paul knew how easily weariness can set in. At times we can experience outright opposition. On other occasions we can feel despondent when there appear to be no results.
In our service we can sometimes “faint” spiritually. Paul recognized this tendency and therefore encouraged the believers to carry on in their “well doing” without growing weary. Our Lord Jesus taught “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint,” (Lk.18:1). Without prayer, we will be weak in service. Stressing the importance of prayer, the poet James Montgomery wrote:
Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
The Christian’s native air. (1)
When we are young, we often have more energy. Isaiah tells us, however, that “even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,” (Is.40:30). If those with the most stamina can “faint” and “utterly fall” we may well ask what hope there is for the rest of us! The following verse supplies the answer: “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint,” (Is.40:31). What encouragement this gives!
SORTING OUT
While I was sorting through a supply of old tracts and booklets, I came across a faded card produced many years ago by the Religious Tract Society of London containing the last words of a Christian soldier in the South African War. The verses of the poem inspire us to persevere.
“PRAISE AND PRAY AND PEG AWAY”
When life seems hard, and friendships fail,
When doubts and fears thy faith assail,
If thou would’st know how to prevail,
Just Praise and Pray and Peg Away!
Should threat’ning clouds obscure thy sky,
And cherished plans in failure die;
Fresh courage take! God reigns on high!
Just Praise and Pray and Peg Away!
Should all thy labour seem in vain,
And those whom thou would’st serve disdain
Thy work and thee – heed not the pain!
Just Praise and Pray and Peg Away!
When all around thee duties press,
And time seems short and strength grows less,
Let God’s own peace thy soul possess –
Just Praise and Pray and Peg Away!
Yes, Praise thy Lord for all that’s past,
And Pray that He will hold thee fast,
And Peg away while life shall last –
Just Praise and Pray and Peg Away!
S.E. Burrow
STILL PRAISING…
One person who encountered much opposition in Old Testament times was David. He wrote Psalm 57 when he was a fugitive, hunted by that malicious king, Saul. David knew the importance of prayer. “I will cry unto God most high,” he declared in verse 2. He had confidence that God would both hear and answer him.
David was also prepared to praise God in his adverse circumstances. “I will sing and give praise!” he cried, (v.7). “I will praise Thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto Thee among the nations,” (v.9). Though he might find himself banished from the place where God was worshipped by His people, David maintained that he would still praise God – even “among the nations” where he might be driven. There is a note of triumph in this Psalm. David writes as one whose heart was “fixed” (v.7). He would not be moved by an enemy or by his circumstances.
PREVAILING
John Phillips has said that “the praising man is the prevailing man,” (2). David prevailed. So did Paul. Let us wait upon the Lord in prayer and find new strength. Let us praise Him too as we “peg away” in His service. What an encouragement to know His promise that “we shall reap if we faint not,” (Gal.6:9)!
END NOTES:- (1)Hymn 81 in GOLDEN BELLS: Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire. (2)John Phillips, Exploring the New Testament (Emmaus Bible School, 1972), p.58.