Heavenly Father, here I am, according to Thy divine will, in the
service of my king and war-master, as is my duty as a soldier; and I
thank Thee for Thy grace and mercy that Thou hast called me to the
performance of this duty, because I am certain that it is not a sin,
but is an obedience to Thy wish and will. But as I know and have learnt
through Thy gracious Word that none of our good works can avail us, and
that nobody can be saved merely as a soldier, but only as a Christian,
I will not rely on my obedience and upon my labours, but will perform
my duties for Thy sake, and to Thy service. I believe with all my heart
that the innocent blood of Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, which He has shed
for me, delivers and saves me, for He was obedient to Thee even unto
death. On this I rely, on this I live and die, on this I fight, and on
this I do all things. Retain and increase, O God, my Father, this
belief by Thy Holy Ghost. I commend body and soul to Thy hands. Amen.
It is the evening of Sedan, the most momentous victory of the century.
The bivouac fires light up the sluggish waters of the Meuse, not yet
run clear from blood. The burning villages still blaze on the lower
slopes of the Ardennes, and the tired victors, as they point to the
beleaguered town, exclaim in a kind of maze of sober triumph, "_Der
Kaiser ist da!_" Hans is joyous with his fellows, chaunts with them
Luther's glorious hymn, _Nun Danket alle Gott_; and as the watch-fire
burns up he rummages in the _Gebetbuch_ for something that will chime
with the current of his thoughts. He finds it in the prayer