Classic Poem

Be brave, my brother!
Fight the good fight of faith
With weapons proved and true;
Be faithful and unshrinking to the death,
Thy God will bear thee through;
The strife is terrible,
Yet 'tis not, 'tis not long;
The foe is not invincible,
Though fierce and strong.

Be brave, my brother!
The recompense is great,
The kingdom bright and fair;
Beyond the glory of all earthly state,
Shall be the glory there.
Grudge not the heavy cost,
Faint not at labor here,
'Tis but a life-time at the most,
The day of rest is near.

Be brave, my brother!
He, whom thou servest, slights
Not even his weakest one;
No deed, though poor, shall be forgot,
However feebly done.
The prayer, the wish, the thought,
The faintly spoken word,
The plan that seemed to come to nought,
Each has its own reward.

Be brave, my brother!
Enlarge thy heart and soul;
Spread out thy free glad love,
Encompass earth, embrace the sea,
As does that sky above.
Let no man see thee stand
In slothful idleness,
As if there were no work for thee
In such a wilderness.

Be brave, my brother!
Stint not the liberal hand,
Give in the joy of love;
So shall thy crown be bright, and great
Thy recompense above;
Reward,—not like the deed,
That poor weak deed of thine;
But like the God himself who gives,
Eternal and divine.