War-Time Sermons Book

General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1915 Original Publisher: Macmillan Subjects: World War, 1914-1918 Sermons, English History / Military / World War I Religion / Christianity / Anglican Religion / Sermons / Christian Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: VII THE CIVIC IDEAL1 HE LOOKED FOR THE CITY WHICH HATH THE FOUNDATIONS, WHOSE BUILDER AND MAKER IS GOD. -- Hebrews xi. IO. 1. THESE words are spoken of the Patriarch Abraham, and give the key to his career. He is given a place of special honour in the Battle-roll of the Heroes of Faith, as being truly " THE Father Of The Faithful," the Man who first uplifted for his nation the Torch of a distant Ideal, and made it the guiding light of his own life. I choose the words to-day for two reasons. On the one hand, they remind us that Ideals are indispensable for a right ordering of human effort; on the other hand, they state shortly but with arresting lucidity a particular Ideal, which is precisely that which may be fitly upheld before a body of men elected tomunicipal office, and about to enter on the exercise of their functions. Apart from ideals, there is no escaping from the dull bondage of routine. We are imprisoned by use and wont ; spontaneity languishes; enterprize fails; progress is arrested. We sink under the empire of degrading contentment. But let our minds be visited by a worthy Ideal, and all is on the way to be changed for the better. We apply a new and higher standard to the custom of the world : we look at the established procedure from a new point of view, and perceive the actual performance of duty in larger perspectives. There is a connexion between what is and what might be. The Actual is seen to be on the...Read More