The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-11-06
The PuLIf
a sERMeN NA
81 ThE REV. Mx@gE
fMMHENDEeScNWe
Subject: Heroism.

Brooklyn, N. Y.-Preaching at the
Irving Square Presbyterian Church
Hamburg avenue and VERIFIED
street, on the above them, the Rev
Ira Wemmell Henderson, pastor, took
as his text, Daniel, 3:18. 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 bowling down to his
idols while still serving their God ir
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 Utmost hearts I!
Here was a place where most men
would have considered discretion the
better part OF valor. Here was 8
chance for compromise in externals
for the sake of saving ones life
Here was the supreme test of thei1
characters. They might have made
excuses for themselves to their OWL
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 d~eliverer 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. A man
may be as a prophet in his percep-
ton and comprehension Of divine
truth, but if he lack heroism his pow
ers r largely unavailable to society.
Conviction needs courage to become
a living force. 1t Is one thing to have
a vision, and another to declare it.
1t is n thing to have knowledge,
and another to eXpound it. 1t is one
thing to have a valid and substantial
ed opinion, and another to state 1t.
1t is n thing to detect sham and sin,
and quite another to unmask them.
The world is full Of men who could
do evil to the death in many a place
did they only dare. But it is so mani
testify one thing to know the truth
! and another to stand up for it and to
proclaim it.
The value Of heroism cannot be de-
MED. With it Moses faced the terrors
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 1t
Columbus sailed the wide, uncharted
seas, and discovered America to a
ready world. With it Luther hurled
defiance to the Vaccinations of Ro-
man ecclesiasticism and marked an
epoch in the majestic march of man
hood toward our present liberty of
thought. With it the heroes of Val
ley Forge kept the faith for civil lib
erty and under the impulse of it's
spirit the slave was freed. Without
1t Jesus would never have become our
Saviour.
Valuable as heroism is, it is not
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
oient 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 all
these military geniuses. And yet, 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 its inspiration and its sustenta-
lion. 1t is not my purpose to insin-
nate tina: ever 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 indiyidualistic,
l~ustrous heroism which is even less
trying and eXacting. He is q hero, I
care not who he may be, who will
lead a willing army on to q fight
where victory is sure, or who will
point the way to 4 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 we're
full OF portents Of success. 1t Is so
much easier to relinquish the respon-
sibility Of leadership to another.
Officers are marked men.
We must admit a great measure
If physical herolsm in the action of
The man who will test his strength
against the wild animal that would
take his life. 1t takes nerve as we'll
rs muscle to meet n bully who richly
needs and deserves a thrashing, and
make him cot the dust. But in the
category CT heroic virtues these are
the least. /.
At this time I would call your at
tentjon to the heroisms which we
have and need in our daily life, the
hercisms 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 rs living sacrifices upon