Classic Poem

The battle is within,
And not on outward plain;
'Tis there the conflicts first begin
And longest shall remain.

Our word, our thought, our deed,
That battle still makes known;
We are not from the conflict freed,
Till sin be overthrown.

The world doth claim the soul,
As well as outward things;
It seeks the spirit to controul,
Its hidden, vital springs.

The motive thou must scan,
Which doth thy spirit move;
For 'tis the motive makes the man,
And doth his virtue prove.

Thou needst a heavenly power,
A mightier strength than thine,
To guard thee in temptation's hour;
O, seek for strength divine.

Not with an outward foe
Must thou the battle wage,
A mightier contest thou must know,
Than warriors' martial rage.

Watch, pray, that thou mayst be
A victor in the strife;
And God from sin shall set thee free,
And give eternal life.