COURAGE.
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage.—Psalm xxvii. 14.
Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.—Psalm xxxi. 24.
And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the Lord.—Amos, ii. 16.
When the brethren heard of us they came to meet us: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.—Acts, xxviii. 15.
That courage which the vain for valour take,
Who proudly danger seek for glory’s sake,
Is impudence; and what they rashly do,
Has no excuse, but that ’tis madness too.
Sir William Davenant.
Stand but your ground, your ghostly foes will fly—
Hell trembles at a heaven-directed eye;
Choose rather to defend than to assail—
Self-confidence will in the conflict fail:
When you are challenged, you may dangers meet—
True courage is a fixed, not sudden heat;
Is always humble, lives in self-distrust,
And will itself into no danger thrust.
Devote yourself to God, and you will find
God fights the battles of a will resigned.
Love Jesus! Love will no base fear endure—
Love Jesus! And of conquest rest secure.
Bishop Ken.
True courage is not moved by breath of words;
While the rash bravery of boiling blood,
Impetuous, knows no settled principle.
A feverish tide, it has its ebbs and flows,
As spirits rise or fall, as wine inflames,
Or circumstances change: but inborn courage,
The generous child of fortitude and faith,
Holds its firm empire in the constant soul;
And like the steadfast pole-star, never once
From the same fixed and faithful point declines.
Hannah More.