the courage which comes by faith. There is
a courage which does not come by faith. There is brute courage, which
comes from hardness of heart, from stupidity, obstinacy, or anger, which
does not see danger, or does not feel pain. That is the courage of the
brute. One does not blame it, or call it wrong. It is good in its
place, as all natural things are, which God has made. It is good enough
for the brutes, but it is not good enough for man. You cannot trust it
in man. And the more a man is what a man should be, the less he can
trust it. The more mind and understanding a man has, so as to be able to
foresee danger, and measure it, the more chance there is of his brute
courage giving way. The more feeling a man has, the more keenly he feels
pain of body, or pain of mind, such as shame, loneliness, the dislike,
ridicule, and contempt of his fellow men; in a word, the more of a man he
is, and the less of a mere brute, the more chance there is of his brute
courage breaking down, just when he wants it most to keep him up, by
leaving him to play the coward and come to shame. Yes. To go through
with a difficult and dangerous undertaking, a man wants more than brute
courage. He wants spiritual courage--the courage which comes by faith.
He needs to have faith in what he is doing; to be certain that he is
doing his duty, to be certain that he is in the right. Certain that
right will conquer, certain that God will make it conquer, by him or by
some one else; certain that he will either conquer honourably, or fail
honourably, for God is with him. In a word, to have true courage, man
needs faith in God.

To give one example. Look at the class of men who, in all England,
undergo the most fearful dangers; who know not at what hour of any night
they may not be called up to the most serious labour and responsibility,
with the chance of a horrible and torturing death. I mean the firemen of
our great cities, than whom there are no steadier, braver, nobler-hearted
men. Not a week passes without one or more of these firemen, in trying
to save life and property, doing things which are altogether heroic.
What do you fancy keeps them up to their work? High pay? The amusement
and excitement of fires? The vanity of being praised for their courage?
My friends, those would be but paltry weak motives, which would not keep
a man's heart calm and his head clear under such responsibility and
da