Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1905-10-27
THE HUNGER or The AGES.
Nv Rev. Henry r. Co

BY Rev. Henry r. Cote.
BLESSED arc they which do hunger
and thirst after righteousness, tor they
shall be tilled."-Matt. ", 6.
This is the central heatitudc, IN a
measure it embraces all the others, Tor
every virtue they inculcatr is included
in righteousness. But il is often re-
jected as imprActicable because fNnci-
full teachers who substitute subtle den
nitlons for simple duties hay" twisted
its plain words until righteousness IS
made something So unrrISpnAbl" as 10
be repulSiyc to a right mind. rs Il
matter of fact, it means no more than
rlghtncss; the hunger AID thirst 10"
righteousness is but the earnest, su-
prclnc desire and eIdcaNOr 10 b" right
and to q wight at all times. the apH'
tltc for the right.
Theological righteousness may m""n
Some strange imputed uuAlIty laid on !"
man like Il cloak 10 cover his real CON
Gition or Il bill of health given TO Il SICK
man. But mul who live next to real
thing care nothing one way or the
other for theoretical riElttnrSs; they
want the real article. And Il right man
will not be satisfied to have ever tn"
Most High think Of him as being per
fectly right when he knows II" fails
far short Of it. He would rather be
the faltering pur$ner of actual right
ness than the poSSrsSnr of 4 ~hyputhet-
ical. ascribrd perfection.
The Great Teacher cares nothing
about imaginary virtues; he praises
tnoSe who lrirmIly seek the real ones.
lie knows that in the market of char
ncter cash alone is currency; here YOU
cannot draw checks on sonle other per
sans deposits. To him it is better by
far to die facing the right than to live
in SNUG content with borrowed m"r-
its. This world will nr>'.' i' r"nleAt
with Il gospel thai offers uHlE NIrtr.uuS
virtues: It its heart it knows too we'll
its urri Of the genuine u>Hblr ones:
it has a1 least the dormant faculties
tor an appetite OF rigltnrSS.
Ana All this world story is but Il REG
ord of the struggle for riGhtncss. All
human progress is hut its fruitage. In
every age there have been glorious
souls who have made this passion a
thing that glowed in their lives and
became a light to their day. In every
man the divine discomfort that divides
him from the animal is the sign OF
this desire in some form; ii shows man
seeking to find more perfect, more
nearly RICH relations with the things
about him. AS the things about him
come to include God and heaven an
things unseen so viii his search -.
s:xb.,,,, l,,,,,n wiIn,. and Ipp,p-
and more spiritual. Every form Of
spiritual aspiration, every religion, IL"
matter how uncouth n strange, is
sill ii. soil % :aac s"HEinG RIGHT r"-
lationS to the infinite.
What n glorious thing is this passion
for the right; what visions II has seen.
what strength it has given to their re-
aliZation. it is the great tide that.
moving restless and rcSistleSS in our
bosoms. has carried us Oh toward God.
We cannot but believe it is born Of
him. 1t does not originate in man, for
il disturbs his peace. it stirs him from
sloth, it splrs him to new and often
unwclcomc erGvHvors. 1t ever holds
before him the shining possibility Of a
perfect beng in Il perfect word.
No wO,lder Christ used the figure of
hunger ard thirst. Literal appetites
have been the motives back of the
worlds struggle for physical right
ness; yet these cravings have not been
more general or more forceful than
those of The soul. But for hunger and
thirst man would ave ived in perfect
content with the form and facts Of life
as he found them; progress, all that
we call ~civiliza ton, would not have
been.
Man is happy in proportion as neces-
sity compels him to hecd these crav-
ings. So is it in the moral world; the
struggle has been our salvation. To
cease to strive for Brightness is to cease
! to live. Individually and nationally
they are happy who accept the rigor-
Gus climate of lofty ethical ideals, who
are not content 10 talk life as they
find it, but who seek to cultivate flow
ers and fruits Of paradise on the ster-
lie. rocky soil Of the human heart.
This is the life that Jesus shows, the
life that seeks and find the truth,
that with passionate ardor seeks right
relations both with his fellows and
Will LIS IdILCl. SoL vi lliS lullllCSS
Of experience, in the midst of his own
struggle he encourages all who strive:
they shall be satisfied. No ideal, no
noble passion, no glorious sacrifice, Ito
honest endeavor for the right was ever
in vain; the soul finds itself in seeking
the supreme good.
~BUILDERS OF THE TIME"
Rv Dor Foe,6.r VAL
What house Will you build me-
Acts I, 20.
In the oldcn days of art
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part
For the gods see everywhere.
This stanZa from The Builders by
Longfeilow. IS strikingly suggestive
In the conception of the poet the feel
ing that he eyes of their gods were
ever resting upon them led ancient
builders working upon the walls Of
time" to do their work with greatest
care.
The thought may be applied to mod
ern '~builders::" modern theology
teaches and modern faith accepts the
doctrine OF the Omnipresent God. not
ono~- mods t- nn,,fifnlJy n~n-sSSnJ