Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-06-04
sermon TO
Glass OF 'OS

The baccalaureate sermon was de-
livered to the graduating class of the
high school by the Rev. W. @. McCor
mack, d. D., at the Grove Presbyter-
ian church Sunday evening.
Along with the class of 0S, the
school board of Danville attended the
services in body.
Following in part is the baccalaura-
etc sermon, which proved to be one Of
| DR.. Mccormack most able efforts.
! The theme OF the discourse was, The
Race of Life" The text was taken
from Corinthians. gath TO 27th verses ::
"Know ye not that they which run in
race run all. but one receiveth the
prize? So run that ye may obtain,
etc. -"
After graphically portraying the
famous Isthmian games to which the
above passages of scripture refer, DR.,
Mccormack asked Now what was it
that Paul saw admirable in such
spectacle? The racial instincts of the
Jew were entirely hostile to athletic
he was wise and travelled citizen of
the world He knew that the great
Pagan nations set the highest value on
athleticism, because the culture of the
body was with them almost a religion.
And in sense it was religion, for
while sensualism and luxury worked
physical deprivation among the plea
sure allowing people, the athletic stood
for the sobriety, the self control, which
makes for the noblest manhood.
1t was not an easy life those men
lived By the very nature of their
avocatioh they were vowed to hard
and constant discipline of the senses
and the passions.
"Look then at the life of the anci-
ent athlete and you will see that it is
marked by three elements. the first of
which is discipline. " The earliest
lesson that the would be athlete learns
is the application of science to physi-
cal development, and science is hard
master. Food, sleep, exercise, all come
under the strictest regulation. An
iron yoke of obedience is laid upon
the body.
Another element is the persist
ence" of his energy. The athlete
shared in the admiration of human
energy. The life he chose was life
of deliberate effort
And naturally tie third element in
such life was ambition. " The
athlete knew we'll that all who ran in
the race could not attain, but he was
determined that the one who failed
should not be he. The thirst for dis
tinction moved him like passion He
saw himself at the goal amid the
thundeIs of the amphitheatre. He was
not born to sink in the common drift
of Incompetence.
I'm such a life as this the chief
thing to notice is that its. motives are
really moral motives. - 1t is of no
consequence to say that all the hard
ships and discipline of such life were
endured for a oorrputible crown. Nor
does it at all lessen the dignity Of the
spectacle to say that all this discipline
was undertaken for a little passing
fame. 1t may have been a passing
fame, but it was a real fame
Dwelling upon Pau''s inuerpreta-
tion the speaker deduced many useful
lessons from the text. Paul puts the
case upon far higher grounds. You
are to bring the body into subjection,
not for the body's sake alone, but for
the spirits sake. You are to be mast
ers of the body and not the slave. The
athlete did this for the body's sake,
will you not do it for the souls sake?
So run that you may obtain. The
words mean that you are not to be
content with second.rate virtues-that
you are to be filed with divine dis
content in measuring yourself-tlat
you are to coyet the highest prize
And, if at any time, pride rules your
will; if you suppose the battle won
and further strife unnecessary, if you
are tempted TO relax your hold over
yourself; to coquet with indulgences,
to make things easier for yourself,
then in such an hour may the voice OF
Paul reach you. may his confession
strike like warning bell across your
] heart. I paul naIIad to ba on opo.tIo
OF Jesus Christ, keep my body in sub
lection, lest when have preached to
others l myself should be a cast.
away. -