He spoke of the deep and tranquil confidence that man may learn from nature, from the birds and the flowers. He spoke of the infinite peace of the heart that knows the true meaning of love, which is giving and blessing, and the true secret of courage, which is loyalty to the truth. He spoke of the God whom we can trust as a child trusts its father, and of the Heaven which waits for all who do good to their fellowmen. He spoke of the wisdom whose fruit is not pride but humility, of the honour whose crown is not authority but service, of the purity which is not outward but inward, and of the joy which lasts forever. He spoke of forgiveness for the guilty, of compassion for the weak, of hope for the desperate. He told these poor and lowly folk that their souls were unspeakably precious, and that He had come to save them and make them inheritors of an eternal kingdom. He told them that He had brought this message from God, their Father and His Father. He spoke with the simplicity of one who knows, with the assurance of one who has seen, with the certainty and clearness of one for whom doubt does not exist. He offered Himself, in His stainless purity, in His supreme love, as the proof and evidence of His gospel, the bread of Heaven, the water of life, the Saviour of sinners, the light of the world. "Come unto Me," He said, "and I will give you rest." This was the heavenly music that came into the world by the Lake of Galilee. And its voice has spread through the centuries, comforting the sorrowful, restoring the penitent, cheering the despondent, and telling all who will believe it, that our human life is worth living, because it gives each one of us the opportunity to share in the Love which is sovereign and immortal. _A PSALM OF THE GOOD TEACHER_ _The Lord is my teacher: I shall not lose the way to wisdom._ _He leadeth me in the lowly path of learning, He prepareth a lesson for me every day; He findeth the clear fountains of instruction, Little by little he showeth me the beauty of the truth._ _The world is a great book that he hath written, He turneth the leaves for me slowly; They are all inscribed with images and letters, His face poureth light on the pictures and the words._ _Then am I glad when I perceive his meaning, He taketh me by the hand to the hill-top of vision; In the valley also he walketh beside me, And in the dark places he whispereth to my heart._ _Yea, though my lesson be hard it is not hopeless, For the Lord is very patient with his slow scholar; He will wait awhile for my weakness, He will help me to read the truth through tears._ _Surely thou wilt enlighten me daily by joy and by sorrow: And lead me at last, O Lord, to the perfect knowledge of thee._ XI THE SPRINGS OF JORDAN I THE HILL-COUNTRY OF NAPHTALI