The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-09-18
Subject: "Patriotic Manhood
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Brooklyn, N. Y.-Preaching at the
Irving Square Presbyterian Church,
Hamburg avenue and VERIFIED
street, on the above theme, the pas
tor, Rev. Ira Wemmell Henderson.
tool as his text II Sam. 1912, LET
US show ourselves men for the sake
OF our people and for the cities of
our God" He said:
The history of the world is rich
with the record of the achievements
of patriotic manhood. In no untrue
II we may say that the fairest his
tory of humanity Is inseparably
linked with the deeds of it's heroes.
Whether in war or peace, it has been
ever so. The v%alorous of all
ages have made the enduring story Of
the worlds advance.
Not otherwise is it with America.
The story of the States is the story
of heroic living both in war and in
peace. No nation under the sun has
a prouder list of valiant warriors
than have we. No country can boast
a more unblemished record-despite
our acknowledged sins-than ours.
The memory of the men who braved
the wilds of an unknown land, of the
souls who dared at Valley Forge. on
the waters of Lake Erie, at Gettys-
burg, at Santiago, that a lev land
might be discovered to a waiting
world, that a nation might be born
and saved, that liberty might be en-
larged, will never be forgotten. The
remembrance of such manhood is
im~perishable. Of such a manhood
America has her share. BY the de-
vot.on of such a manhood our heri-
tage Of freedom was procured, and
by it the priceless liberties of a free
people have been conserved to US all.
But glorious as is the history of
militant America. greater still is her
pre-eminence as a nation that is be-
ing perfected under God in the arts
of peace. Delightful as are the deeds
of our warriors, still more entranc-
ing are the peaceful achievements of
u civilians. The Puritans, as stern
and ~unrelenting warriors, are not
half the picture that they present as
the architects and builders of a gov
eminent founded deep in the ever
lasting principles Of individual and
social Righteousness. Washington
as a general is eclipsed by the first
President of an, united people. The
Southerner as a fighter is supreme,
but the fruits of a rehabllitated
Southland tell to-day in tones that
are ~thunderous Of the patriotism, the
chivalry, the indomitable ~persever-
ance of the manhood of the South.
Some day we shall elevate Edison
above Grant and the heroes Of the
moral warfares we have waged above
the %valorous upon the field Of strife.
For, in the last analysis, the heroes
of peace are, from every point of
view, more masterful, more inspir-
ing than the mighty men of a 1t
is easier, when once the fever of
the battle has gotten hold upon a
man, to go to death to the mingled
roar of music and of musketry than to
live and struggle in the face of over
whelming odds, without a cheer and
without the fanfare of the field of
battle, for the civic welfare Of a ma
ton and for abstract right. And
many a man who has served with
devotion under the stimulus of the
common call to arms has been a
traitor and a coward and has sold
his country and his soul because he
lacked the courage to risk all and to
dare and to attack against moral and
spiritual wickedness and exalted sin
in the quiet hours for the common
veal.
America needs more men to live
for her-men who will dare to show
themselves men "for the sake of our
people and for the cities of u God"
For it would appear that this is a
land Of promise, that Emmanuel is
with us, that this country is His
country, that the municipalities Of
this united commonwealth are the
property, the possession of Divinity.
In the face of national weakness and
of civic unrighteousness, in the face
OF the unquestioned exploitation Of
the people for the benefit Of the few,
we need men who have a call to live
for the general good, and who will
heed and serve.
The problems of America are as
stupendous as her sins. The situa-
ton demands, however, not revolu-
ton but solution. The land cries out
for men who can Solve-Solve large
problems in a large way. We must
have solution, and that soon II 1t is
delayed for long we shall have 1.-The
deluge." The rose of our present
prosperity is fragrant, but every live
man knows that it has it's thorns.
The body polite is the most cultured
that the world has seen, but every
careful diagnosis proclaims it sick
with a low fever that must be elm
mated. We need savioTs to-day, men
who are a sweet SAVIOR to God and
who have power with men; men who
will be straight; men who will be
honest; men who will value recti-
tude above riches and the popular
welfare above personal reward.
America needs manhood. And
first Of all she needs a broad-minded
manhood. The Puritan was sturdy
but he was narrow. The manhood OF
to-day must combine the %sturdiness
and integrity of the Pilgrim Fathers
with the intellectual breath Of an
enlightened member of a twentieth
century society. It must not be mar
row, it must not be shallow. Pos
sessing the ethical capacity Of g
mar of God, it must have that ca.
pacity for sound and proficient judg-
ment that shall command and retain
the confidence OF men.
America needs a moral manhood,
She needs a race Of men who will
have more respect for the right than
respect for Law. The reason so many
men have not proper respect for law
is that they have no comprehension
of the mandatory qualities Of that
which is right. The mar who loves
the right rarely has to ask what is
the sanction of the law. The mar