The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-10-18
| Zhe PULPIT
.nTe~SSRSL~N-<N\
A SERMON GtsSsSM
pY ThE REV AxsH
lAMHENDEN0NVN&
Subject: HeroiSm.

I4dHDulS avenue ana W Nelrueld
street, on the above them. the Rev.
Ira Wemmell Henderson. pastor. took
as his text, Daniel. 3:lS. He said:
The courage of these men was
sublime. Their heroism was remark
able. The story of their strength
OF character is not an ordinary one.
They might easily have played the
king false by bowing down 10 his
idols while still serving their God in
their hearts. In all likelihood Nebu-
/ chadnezzar would have been satisfied
had they simply bent the knee TO his
gods. And how could a mere man,
even though he were a king, divine
the devotions of their inmost hearts?
Here was a place where most men
would have considered discretion tho
! better part of valor Here was
chance for compromise in externals
! for the sake of saving ones life.
/ Here was the supreme test of their
! characters. They might have made
excuses for themselves to their own
minds and to God, and have wor-
SHIPPED the golden image. They did
neither. They were true Jews. They
served the God of Israel. who had
said unto His people by the mouth
OF Moses the deliverer and law-giver,
Thou shalt not bow down unto them
! nor serve them" Therefore, they
stood erect when the sound of "all
kinds of music" made the multitude
| fall down. And standing, they are
monuments to moral heroism.
Heroism has great value In life and
is varied. Without It we could not
make much, If any progress. man
may be as a prophet in his percep-
| tion and comprehension of divine
truth, but If he lack heroism his pow
ers are largely unavailable TO society.
! Conviction needs courage to becom
q living force. IL Is one thing TO have
| a vision, and another to declare it.
IL is one thing to have knowledge.
and another to expound IT. It is one
thing TO have a valid and substantial
/ ed opinion, and another to state it..
| lt is one thing to detect sham and sin,
and quite another 10 unmask them.
The world is full of men who could
| do evil to the death in many place
| did they only dare. But il is so mani
testify one thing to know the trutl
and another to stand up for it and To
proclaim it.
The value of heroism cannot be d.
MED. With 1t Moses faced the terror
and the torments of the desert and
the threatenings of the wandering
| people Of God. With it Isaiah and
the prophets assailed mighty sin in
! the name of Almighty God. With .t
/ Columbus sailed the wide, unchartai
seas, and discovered America to A
ready world. With it Luther hurled
| defiance to the Vaccinations of Re-
man ecclesiasticism and marked "a
! epoch in the majestic march of man
! hood toward our present liberty OF
/ thought. With IL the heroes of Val
! ley Forge kept the faith for civil lib
! erty and under the impulse of ik'
! spirit the slave was freed. Without
lt Jesus would never have become ous
! Saviour.
Valuable as herosm is, Il is no.,
less varied. For heroism is individ
ual and social, physical and moral
lustrous and humble
| The men of Lexington and Santi,
ago, of Trafalgar and of Waterloo
| the heroes Of Hebrew history and of
the Crusades, the hosts who followed
! Napoleon or Wellington or Washing
! ton or Stonewall Jackson or any of
! the famous captains of armies, an.
cient or modern, are examples OF
what we may term physical social
! heroism. Many were the instances OF
humble, individual moral courage dis
played by soldiers serving under al!
these military geniuses. And vet, in
/ the last analysis, their heroism was
that of brute strength let loose and
! dependent, as much as upon anything,
upon the flags, and the fanfare, and
the smell and sight of blood, and the
crowd moving together to the battle
! for It's inspiration and its sustenta-
| tion. 1t is not my purpose to ;nsin-
uate that even under these conditions
1t is an easy thing to fare forth TO
| try conclusions with fate. But in
comparison with the pluck needed to
do many another deed 1t is easy
There is, too, an individualistic,
lustrous heroism which is even less
trying and exacting. He is a hero,
care not who he may be, who will
| lead a willing army on to a fight
where victory is sure, or who will!
point the way to a moral victory to
men who are with him and who sight
the same truth that he sees. For
many a man has lacked the heroism
to lead even though the skies were
| full of portents of success. IL Is so
much easier TO relinquish the respon-
! sibility of leadership TO another.
officers are marked men.
We must admit a great measure
OF physical heroism in the action OF
the man who will test his strength
against the wild animal that would
/ take his life. II takes nerve as well
as muscle to meet bully who richly
| needs and deserves a thrashing, and
make him eat the dust. But in the
category Of heroic virtues these are
| the least.
At this time | would call your at
| tention TO the heroisms which we
| have and need in our daily life, the
| heroisms Of the humble. moral host
] who constitute the mainstay OF this
/ land and who are the backbone OF
| America. the men and women and
! children who in an inconspicuous, but
/ none the less efficient, fashion, give
| themselves as living sacrifices upon
/ the altar of devotion 20 God and home
/ and country. / would have you again
/