“Stand up, stand up for Jesus! 
      Ye soldiers of the cross;
    Lift high His royal banner,
      It must not suffer loss.

    “From victory to victory
      His army shall be led,
    Till every foe is vanquished,
      And Christ is Lord indeed.

    “Stand up, stand up for Jesus! 
      The trumpet call obey;
    Forth to the mighty conflict,
      In this His glorious day!”

25.  Twenty-fifth Day.

A Loyal Aim.

   “That he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”—­2 Tim.
   ii. 4.

Here is something worth aiming at, worth trying for!  The Lord Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, is He who hath chosen us to be His soldiers and now, does He only tell us that we may do our duty,—­serve, obey, and fight?  No; He tells us something more, gives us a hope and an aim so bright and pleasant, that it is like sunshine upon everything.  He says, we “may please Him.”

Only one who knows what it is to mourn for having grieved the dear Saviour, can quite understand what a happy word this is!  That we, who have been cold, and careless, and sinful, grieving His love over and over again, should be told after all that we may please Him!  Oh, if we love Him, our hearts will just leap at the hope of it!  Perhaps we thought this could not be till we reached heaven; but you see His own word says, we “may please Him” now, while we are soldiers in the very midst of the fighting.  St. Paul tells us one thing in which you may please Him:  “Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing unto the Lord.”  But he prays too that the Colossians “might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing.”

Shall this be your aim and your hope to-day?  Will you look up to the Lord Jesus now, and ask Him first to give you the faith without which “it is impossible to please Him,” and then to show you “how you ought to walk and to please God,” and so to help you to “do those things that are pleasing in His sight;” that all your ways, even every little step of your ways, may really and truly “please the Lord” (Prov. xvi. 7).

    “True-hearted, whole-hearted, faithful, and loyal,
      King of our lives, by Thy grace we will be;
    Under Thy standard, exalted and royal,
      Strong in Thy strength, we will battle for Thee.

    “True-hearted, whole-hearted!  Fullest allegiance
      Yielding henceforth to our glorious King,
    Valiant endeavor and loving obedience,
      Freely and joyously now we would bring.”

26.  Twenty-sixth Day.

Obedience to Christ.

   “Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.”—­John ii. 5.