The Gospel of the Pentateuch by Charles Kingsley
page 57 of 186 (30%)
page 57 of 186 (30%)
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and herds. 'Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between thee and
me. If thou wilt take the left hand, I will go to the right.' He is then, as again with the king of Sodom, and with the three strangers at the tent door, and with the children of Heth, when he is buying the cave of Machpelah for a burying-place for Sarah-- always and everywhere the same courteous, self-restrained, high- bred, high-minded man. It has been said that true religion will make a man a more thorough gentleman than all the courts in Europe. And it is true: you may see simple labouring men as thorough gentlemen as any duke, simply because they have learned to fear God; and fearing him, to restrain themselves, and to think of other people more than of themselves, which is the very root and essence of all good breeding. And such a man was Abraham of old--a plain man, dwelling in tents, helping to tend his own cattle, fetching in the calf from the field himself, and dressing it for his guests with his own hand; but still, as the children of Heth said of him, a mighty prince--not merely in wealth of flocks and herds, but a prince in manners and a prince in heart. But faith in God did more for Abraham than this: it made him a truly pious man--it made him the friend of God. There were others in Abraham's days who had some knowledge of the one true God. Lot his nephew, Abimelech, Aner, Eshcol, Mamre, and others, seem to have known whom Abraham meant when he spoke of the Almighty God. But of Abraham alone it is said that he believed God; that he trusted in God, and rested on him; was built up on God; rested on God as a child in the mother's arms--for this we are told, is the full meaning of the word in the Bible--and looked to God as |
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