This dark and barren place is Bethel,
where Jacob came at sunset
and placed himself a pillow of stone.
Here each must face alone
his troubled thinking, sin, and sad regret;
at Bethel men must conquer false belief,
and each will weep
over his erring footsteps;
repentance at Bethel is deep.
But true repentance
demands humble reformation,
the turning from sin,
the reflecting only of good.
At Bethel men will turn
from troubled woe, from sin and fear,
to put on Christ, Truth, understood.
Enlightened thinking, reason, and revelation
regenerate men and establish brotherhood.
The truth that Jacob found,
when his understanding of God
uncovered his sin and brought God's angels near,
became a pillar of strength on which to lean.
Feeling God's presence, then,
Jacob avowed, when he had conquered fear,
"Surely the Lord is in this place;
and I knew it not."
And the gate of heaven is here.
