The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1902-05-07

make man courageous. There is
higher and nobler element in courage
than force. Courage is "heart", and
dwells in the heart, where dwell all
the higher and nobler faculties of the
nature. You dishonor the word when
you think OF 1t only in connection
with athletics, and prize-fghting, and
soldering. Courage finds expression
in higher pursuits than these. To re-
fuse to do wrong, to decline to take
the first or any glass of liquor, to fear
to tell lie, to keep from saying all
the harsh and bitter words that spring
to the lips, to refrain for examples
sake from any pleasure or pursuit, to
make q sacrifice in order to do good,
or to honor Christ, these are achieve
ments which call for courage.
The highest type of bravery, and
that which calls for the loudest APP
plause, is that of courage which dares
to say "no." The courage which
goes with physical strength, while it
is noble in its way, is really inslgniif-
cant compared with this moral cour-
age which dares to defy evil, and leaps
forward to do good. And this sort of
courage is absolutely necessary to sue
y
heavy, the temptations are so many
any mighty, the sorrows are so great,
and heaped one on top of another,
that only man with great heart
can come safely through them all and
be crowned with victory. The first
lesson that | would have you make
of this truth that courage is a quality
of heart.
Now right here | want to deliver my
message to the young men in this
congregation tonight. The secret of
the highest success is to have God in
your heart. Look at David See him
easily beating down the lion and the
bear See him standing without fear
before the mighty Philistine See him
Drawing incredible hardships, enduring
fierce opposition, undertaking great
enterprises, leading armies to victory,
bearing up against domestic trials,
pulled down from the throne in his
old age by the hand of an ungrateful
and wicked son Look at the mans
success, his glory, and his undying
fame. In his boyhood, he said, "The
Lord who delivered me, etc. u in his
matured manhood he put it in these
words " In all thy ways acknowledge
the Lord, aud he will direct thy
paths" 1t was by the help of God
that he overcame his foes, and crowned
his life with honor.
Young men, "Be strong in the Lord
and in the power of his might The
secret of strength Is to have Jesus
Christ in the heart The spirit of Christ
in the heart will endue you with in
vincible strength. 1t will make you
stronger than the world stronger
than the vices that are SO apt to fasten
themselves upon young men stronger
than the strong spirit of self that is In
each one of you, which would inspire |
you to fight against God and man, and |
which unvanquished will crush you at |
the end, and crown your life with de-
feat Without Christ n young man is
little better than pagan. lie may
have culture, but no will be cultured
pagan. He may be moral, but he will
be moral pagan. He may have grace
of form, and sweetness of manner, and
d magnificent endowment of physical
strength, but he will be nothing but
handsome pagan. Oh, how many of
these magnificent pagans abound in
this, and in every community; what |
splendid fellows they are, admirable i'll |
much, charming companions, generous |
and liberal almost toa fault, but in spirit |
and purpose, and influence, nothing |
but pagans Young men ought to be
strong but their strength must flow
from some higher level than cultured
minds, strong bodies and sweet dis
positions. They must " be strong In
the Lord, and in the power of his
might Only Jesus Christ can make
them strong. Only by fellowship with
the Son of God can they get the moral
courage that will make them more
than conquerors over 1.-THE Prlncipali-
ties, and powers, and rulers of the
darkness of this world,p that stand in
their way, and seek to overwhelm
them With moral ruin. A great many
young men are looking for tho eourcen
of strength In another quarter than
this. Some would like themselves
strong with money, some with BUSH
ness enterprise, some with fine man
ners some with fine tailor-made
clothes. But over against these | put
the example of David, who found his
strength in the Lord, and who fed the
fires of courage with an answering
trust in God. Real strength always
has moral background. Tho mere
possession of external advantages like
these which | have just mentioned
does not ennoble character. Life must
have moral background to be ad-
mirable. A man must feel himself in
spired by righteous purpose, and
! thrilled by the beauty of a high ideal,
before he can achieve any true and
lasting success.
Life is ennobled most surely by re-
ligion. Religion can even sanctify
the material aims and purposes of
life. There is no surer road to earthly
success than that narrow way that
leads to eternal life. fla young man
is ambitious to get on in the world, let
him sanctify that ambition by the
high resolve to bo distinctly and def
nitely religious, to adhere to principle,
and TO stand fast by his convictions of
duty. "They that wait ON the Lord
will renew their strength Religion
can make young men heroic. Human
nature has always admired heroism.
pity the young man who never feels
the STRINGS of heroic feeling within
his breast. | pity the young fellow
who is never fired by that spirit which
some great and splendid deed of self
sacrifice. There are some who tell us
that the heroic age is past that this is
era of money-bags, that financial en-
terprise is the only daring that at
tracts applause; the heroes and hero
ines live only in the pages of fiction,
and strut TO and fro on the stage. In
reply l say that heroism will always
be admirable, and hero worship will
never die. There never was n finer
age for the display of the heroic spirit;
the world never stood in greater need
of heroes and heroines than just now
But who is the hero; and where shall
we look for heroism? Show me the
young man whose ambition is sancti-
fled by religion, whose life is purified
by fellowship with Jesus Christ, who
knows his own mind enough to keep
himself unspotted from the world
show me the young man who does not
blindly follow his companions into
the saloon, and the house of shame,