March 13th, From The Bible

II Sam. 22:1 (to ,), 2 The, 7 (to :), 17, 18 (to :)

And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, ...

... The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; ...

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: ...

He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters; He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: ...

Job 22:12 (to ?), 21 (to :), 25 (to 2nd ,)

Is not God in the height of heaven? ...

Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: ...

Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, ...

Neh. 2:1 2nd in (to 2nd ,), 4 the, 5 (to 1st ,), 5 that (to 4th ,), 5 2nd that, 6 So (to ;), 12 2nd I (to ;), 17 (to 3rd ,), 17 come (to 5th ,), 18 And, 19 (to 7th ,), 20 (to ;); 6:1 (to 1st ,), 2, 3 (to 4th ,), 4–6 (to 1st ,), 6 that (to 5th ,), 7 Come, 8, 10 and (to 3rd ,), 12 (to ;), 15, 16 (to 2nd ,), 16 they

... in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, ...

... the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said unto the king, ... that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, ... that I may build it. 

... So it pleased the king to send me; ...

... I and some few men with me; ...

... ¶ Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, ... come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, ...

... And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, ...

Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; ...

Now it came to pass, ...

That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, ...

Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner. Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand; Wherein was written, ... that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king, ...

... Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together. Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart. ...

... and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, ...

And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; ...

... ¶ So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, ... they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God. 

Isa. 57:14 Cast, 15 (to 3rd ,)

... Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people. For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, ...

Matt. 4:23 (to 3rd ,), 24 2nd and; 5:1 (to 1st ,), 1 his, 2 (to he), 2 taught, 11, 12 2nd for, 25 (to ;)

¶ And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, ...

... and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. ...

And seeing the multitudes, ... his disciples came unto him: And he ... taught them, saying, ...

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 

... for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. ...

Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; ...

Matt. 16:6–8 (to 2nd ,), 11 (to ,), 12 but

¶ Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, ...

How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, ...

... but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 

Matt. 10:16

¶ Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 

Mark 13:5–7 Take (to :), 9 (to 1st :), 22, 37

... Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ;and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: ...

... ¶ But take heed to yourselves: ...

For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. ...

And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. 

Eph. 6:10, 12, 13, 18 (to perseverance)

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. ...

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. ...

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance ...

Luke 12:37 (to :), 40 (to :)

Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: ...

Be ye therefore ready also: ...

SH 458:15 (only)

Semper paratus is Truth’s motto. 

SH 458:14–15 (to 1st .)

Divinity is always ready. 

SH 223:14 (only), 20 (only, to efforts), 20–21 to

The question, “What is Truth,” convulses the world. ...

The efforts ... to answer this question by some ology are vain. 

SH vii:13

The time for thinkers has come. Truth, independent of doctrines and time-honored systems, knocks at the portal of humanity. Contentment with the past and the cold conventionality of materialism are crumbling away. Ignorance of God is no longer the stepping-stone to faith. The only guarantee of obedience is a right apprehension of Him whom to know aright is Life eternal. Though empires fall, “the Lord shall reign forever.” 

SH 117:29–31

Jesus bade his disciples beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, which he defined as human doctrines. 

SH 18:10; 19:6, 29

Jesus acted boldly, against the accredited evidence of the senses, against Pharisaical creeds and practices, and he refuted all opponents with his healing power. 

... Jesus aided in reconciling man to God by giving man a truer sense of Love, the divine Principle of Jesus’ teachings, and this truer sense of Love redeems man from the law of matter, sin, and death by the law of Spirit, — the law of divine Love. ...

Jesus urged the commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” which may be rendered: Thou shalt have no belief of Life as mortal; thou shalt not know evil, for there is one Life, — even God, good. He rendered “unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” He at last paid no homage to forms of doctrine or to theories of man, but acted and spake as he was moved, not by spirits but by Spirit. 

SH 138:14–15

The supremacy of Spirit was the foundation on which Jesus built. 

SH 49:21

He was to prove that the Christ is not subject to material conditions, but is above the reach of human wrath, and is able, through Truth, Life, and Love, to triumph over sin, sickness, death, and the grave. 

SH 131:26–30; 132:14 (only, to 3rd the), 16–24

The mission of Jesus confirmed prophecy, and explained the so-called miracles of olden time as natural demonstrations of the divine power, demonstrations which were not understood. Jesus’ works established his claim to the Messiahship. ...

The Pharisees of old thrust the spiritual idea and the ... Jesus’ system of healing received no aid nor approval from other sanitary or religious systems, from doctrines of physics or of divinity; and it has not yet been generally accepted. To-day, as of yore, unconscious of the reappearing of the spiritual idea, blind belief shuts the door upon it, and condemns the cure of the sick and sinning if it is wrought on any but a material and a doctrinal theory. 

SH 130:15–19, 26

Christian Science, properly understood, would disabuse the human mind of material beliefs which war against spiritual facts; and these material beliefs must be denied and cast out to make place for truth. ...

If thought is startled at the strong claim of Science for the supremacy of God, or Truth, and doubts the supremacy of good, ought we not, contrariwise, to be astounded at the vigorous claims of evil and doubt them, and no longer think it natural to love sin and unnatural to forsake it, — no longer imagine evil to be ever-present and good absent? Truth should not seem so surprising and unnatural as error, and error should not seem so real as truth. Sickness should not seem so real as health. There is no error in Science, and our lives must be governed by reality in order to be in harmony with God, the divine Principle of all being. 

SH 349:31

In Christian Science, substance is understood to be Spirit, while the opponents of Christian Science believe substance to be matter. They think of matter as something and almost the only thing, and of the things which pertain to Spirit as next to nothing, or as very far removed from daily experience. Christian Science takes exactly the opposite view. 

SH 161:24–26 (to ,), 31 agrees

The ordinary practitioner, examining bodily symptoms, telling the patient that he is sick, and treating the case according to his physical diagnosis, ... agrees with his “adversary quickly,” but upon different terms than does the metaphysician; for the matter-physician agrees with the disease, while the metaphysician agrees only with health and challenges disease. 

SH 391:7–9

Instead of blind and calm submission to the incipient or advanced stages of disease, rise in rebellion against them. 

SH 390:32–2

Rise in the conscious strength of the spirit of Truth to overthrow the plea of mortal mind, alias matter, arrayed against the supremacy of Spirit. 

SH 390:27–29

“Agree to disagree” with approaching symptoms of chronic or acute disease, whether it is cancer, consumption, or smallpox. 

SH 392:24

Reverse the case. Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously. When the condition is present which you say induces disease, whether it be air, exercise, heredity, contagion, or accident, then perform your office as porter and shut out these unhealthy thoughts and fears. Exclude from mortal mind the offending errors; then the body cannot suffer from them. The issues of pain or pleasure must come through mind, and like a watchman forsaking his post, we admit the intruding belief, forgetting that through divine help we can forbid this entrance. 

SH 14:12–16, 18–20 (to 3rd .)

Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual, — neither in nor of matter, — and the body will then utter no complaints. If suffering from a belief in sickness, you will find yourself suddenly well. ... Hence the hope of the promise Jesus bestows: “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; . . . ...

SH 387:27

The history of Christianity furnishes sublime proofs of the supporting influence and protecting power bestowed on man by his heavenly Father, omnipotent Mind, who gives man faith and understanding whereby to defend himself, not only from temptation, but from bodily suffering. 

SH 96:12

This material world is even now becoming the arena for conflicting forces. On one side there will be discord and dismay; on the other side there will be Science and peace. The breaking up of material beliefs may seem to be famine and pestilence, want and woe, sin, sickness, and death, which assume new phases until their nothingness appears. These disturbances will continue until the end of error, when all discord will be swallowed up in spiritual Truth. 

SH 20:25

The truth is the centre of all religion. It commands sure entrance into the realm of Love. St. Paul wrote, “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us;” that is, let us put aside material self and sense, and seek the divine Principle and Science of all healing. 

SH 462:15

There is nothing difficult nor toilsome in this task, when the way is pointed out; but self-denial, sincerity, Christianity, and persistence alone win the prize, as they usually do in every department of life. 

SH 82:31–2

In a world of sin and sensuality hastening to a greater development of power, it is wise earnestly to consider whether it is the human mind or the divine Mind which is influencing one. 

SH 234:9–12, 32–3

We should become more familiar with good than with evil, and guard against false beliefs as watchfully as we bar our doors against the approach of thieves and murderers. ...

... Evil thoughts, lusts, and malicious purposes cannot go forth, like wandering pollen, from one human mind to another, finding unsuspected lodgment, if virtue and truth build a strong defence. 

SH 442:25–32

St. Paul says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling:” Jesus said, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” This truth is Christian Science. 

Christian Scientists, be a law to yourselves that mental malpractice cannot harm you either when asleep or when awake. 

SH 72:9–12 As

As light destroys darkness and in the place of darkness all is light, so (in absolute Science) Soul, or God, is the only truth-giver to man. 

Hymn. 269

Our God is Love, unchanging Love, / And can we ask for more? / Our prayer for Love’s increase is vain; / ’Twas infinite before. / Ask not the Lord with breath of praise / For more than we accept; / The open fount is free to all, / God’s promises are kept. 

Our God is Mind, the perfect Mind, / Intelligence divine; / Shall mortal man ask Him to change / His infinite design? / The heart that yearns for righteousness, / With longing unalloyed, / In such desire sends up a prayer / That ne’er returneth void. 

O loving Father, well we know / That words alone are vain, / That those who seek Thy will to do, / The true communion gain. / Then may our deeds our pure desire / For growth in grace express, / That we may know how Love divine / Forever waits to bless. 

Words: Frederic W. Root

Music: Franz Joseph Haydn

Hymn. 5

A voice from heaven we have heard, / The call to rise from earth; / Put armor on, the sword now gird, / And for the fight go forth. / The foe in ambush claims our prize, / Then heed high heaven’s call. / Obey the voice of Truth, arise, / And let not fear enthrall. 

The cause requires unswerving might: / With God alone agree. / Then have no other aim than right; / End bondage, O be free. / Depart from sin, awake to love: / Your mission is to heal. / Then all of Truth you must approve, / And only know the real. 

Words: Irving C. Tomlinson

Music: English Traditional Melody Arr. by Ralph Vaughan Williams

Hymn. 75

God comes, with succor speedy, / To those who suffer wrong; / To help the poor and needy, / And bid the weak be strong; / He comes to break oppression, / To set the captive free, / To take away transgression, / And rule in equity. 

His blessings come as showers / Upon the thirsty earth; / And joy and hope, like flowers, / Spring in His path to birth. / Before Him on the mountains / Shall Peace, the herald, go; / From hill to vale the fountains / Of righteousness shall flow. 

To Him shall prayer unceasing, / And daily vows, ascend; / His kingdom still increasing, / A kingdom without end. / The tide of time shall never / His covenant remove; / His name shall stand forever: / His changeless name of Love. 

Words: James Montgomery, adapted

Music: Samuel S. Wesley