Charles Foster Kent

“ His courts with songs of rejoicing,
Give thanks to him, praise his name,
He is good, his kindness eternal,
And his faithfulness unto all generations.
WHAT GOD ASKS OF THOSE WHO WORSHIP HIM
O Lord, who may be a guest in thy tent?
Who may dwell on thy holy hill?
He who lives blamelessly and does right,
And speaks the truth in his heart,
Who utters no slander with his tongue,
Who does no wrong to his friend,
Who makes no charge against his neighbor;
In whose sight the vile are despised,
But he honors those who revere the Lord. ”

“ To-day the sadness of the lament which he uttered over Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida still overshadows this most beautiful but loneliest spot in all Palestine. Save a few monks who live at Tell Hum, each of these sites is almost absolutely deserted. A hush seems to rest upon the whole land. The traveller often goes for miles without meeting a human being. Only occasionally are sails seen upon the northern end of the lake. It is like an ancient ruined temple, whose sacred memories and associations are undisturbed by the footfall or voice of man. ”

“ Even though I have the gift of prophecy, and can understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and have faith enough to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I give all I have to feed the poor and my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love is not envious; love is not boastful, is not conceited, does not act rudely, is not selfish, is never provoked, does not resent wrong; rejoices not in evil, but rejoices in the truth. Love forgives all things, believes all things, hopes for all things, endures all things. ”

“ It is the law of life that he who would elevate the standards of his associates and thus lead men to the fullest realization of the divine ideals must ordinarily do it in the face of opposition, ignominy, and seeming failure. It is this quiet, heroic self-sacrifice—the heroism of the commonplace—that the great prophet proclaims is the absolutely essential characteristic of Jehovah's servant. Despised by his contemporaries, the victim of persecution and calamity, he must do his task, leaving the reward and the appreciation to Jehovah and to the enlightened sense of later generations. ”

“ O king, live forever! O king, you have commanded that every man who hears the sound of the trumpet, flute, lute, harp, bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments shall fall down and worship the golden image, and that whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a burning, fiery furnace. There are certain Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, whom you have placed in charge of the province of Babylon. These men, O king, have not obeyed your command; they do not serve your gods nor worship the golden image which you have set up. ”

“ And to men there shall be no other house where men may learn of the world to be than that which God hath given for faithful men to honor; for mortals shall call it the temple of the mighty God. And all pathways of the plain and rough hills and high mountains and wild waves of the deep shall be easy in those days for crossing and sailing; for perfect peace for the good shall come on earth. ”

“ The achievement of the last century was to complete the work of the Protestant Reformation and rediscover the Bible. The task of the present century is to instil its essential teachings, thus revealed, into the mind of the individual, so that they will become controlling factors in human life. Here lies the great responsibility and opportunity of the Christian Church. If it is to renew its hold on modern men, it will be through the mind as well as the heart, and its most efficient method will be—as it always has in reality been—religious education. ”

“ And I applied my mind to searching out and exploring wisdom, all that is done under heaven: it is an evil task that God hath given the children of men at which to toil. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, the whole is vanity and a striving after wind. The crooked cannot be made straight; and the wanting cannot be numbered. I communed with myself, saying, Behold, I have increased and gathered wisdom more than all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my mind has abundantly beheld wisdom and knowledge. ”