Unconditional Trust

Wednesday Bible Readings

October 17th, 2024

From The Bible

Psalms 42:8 the
... the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

Psalms 112:1 Blessed, 7
... Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. ...
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.

Psalms 18:6 (to :)
In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: ...

Psalms 30:10
Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.

Psalms 69:13 my (to :), 16 (to :)
... my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: ...
Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: ...

Psalms 112:8 (to 2nd ,)
His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, ...

Psalms 112:7 his
... his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.

Daniel 3:1, 2, 4–6, 8, 12–14, 15–19 who (to he), 20, 21, 24–26 (to 1st .), 28 (to 7th ,)
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. ...
Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. ...
... ¶ Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. ...
There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. ¶ Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
... who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. ¶ Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego: therefore he ...
And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. ...
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. ¶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. ...
Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, ...

I Timothy 2:5 there, 8
... there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; ...
I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

Matthew 14:22, 24–31
¶ And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. ...
But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Mark 11:23
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Psalms 34:22
The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

Psalms 91:2
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Proverbs 3:5, 25, 26
¶ Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. ...
Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

Hebrews 3:14
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

Psalms 62:5–8
My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Psalms 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Science and Health 495:2–3
Truth casts out error now as surely as it did nineteen centuries ago.

Science and Health 494:15
The miracle of grace is no miracle to Love. Jesus demonstrated the inability of corporeality, as well as the infinite ability of Spirit, thus helping erring human sense to flee from its own convictions and seek safety in divine Science. Reason, rightly directed, serves to correct the errors of corporeal sense; but sin, sickness, and death will seem real (even as the experiences of the sleeping dream seem real) until the Science of man’s eternal harmony breaks their illusion with the unbroken reality of scientific being.

Science and Health 495:14–20, 28–31
When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea. Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought. Let neither fear nor doubt overshadow your clear sense and calm trust, that the recognition of life harmonious — as Life eternally is — can destroy any painful sense of, or belief in, that which Life is not. ...
... Adhere to the divine Principle of Christian Science and follow the behests of God, abiding steadfastly in wisdom, Truth, and Love.

Science and Health 234:26–27
You must control evil thoughts in the first instance, or they will control you in the second.

Science and Health 1:1–3 (to 2nd ,)
The prayer that reforms the sinner and heals the sick is an absolute faith that all things are possible to God, — a spiritual understanding of Him, ...

Science and Health 228:25–29 (to 2nd .)
There is no power apart from God. Omnipotence has all-power, and to acknowledge any other power is to dishonor God. The humble Nazarene overthrew the supposition that sin, sickness, and death have power. He proved them powerless.

Science and Health 23:23
One kind of faith trusts one’s welfare to others. Another kind of faith understands divine Love and how to work out one’s “own salvation, with fear and trembling.” “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief!” expresses the helplessness of a blind faith; whereas the injunction, “Believe . . . and thou shalt be saved!” demands self-reliant trustworthiness, which includes spiritual understanding and confides all to God.

Science and Health 567:3–6
These angels deliver us from the depths. Truth and Love come nearer in the hour of woe, when strong faith or spiritual strength wrestles and prevails through the understanding of God.

Science and Health 511:13
In the eternal Mind, no night is there.

Science and Health 70:5–6
Whatever is false or sinful can never enter the atmosphere of Spirit.

Science and Health 71:1
Nothing is real and eternal, — nothing is Spirit, — but God and His idea. Evil has no reality. It is neither person, place, nor thing, but is simply a belief, an illusion of material sense.

Science and Health 130:9–19
It is unwise to doubt if reality is in perfect harmony with God, divine Principle, — if Science, when understood and demonstrated, will destroy all discord, — since you admit that God is omnipotent; for from this premise it follows that good and its sweet concords have all-power.
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.

Science and Health 418:5–9
Stick to the truth of being in contradistinction to the error that life, substance, or intelligence can be in matter. Plead with an honest conviction of truth and a clear perception of the unchanging, unerring, and certain effect of divine Science.

Science and Health 419:4
Your true course is to destroy the foe, and leave the field to God, Life, Truth, and Love, remembering that God and His ideas alone are real and harmonious.

Science and Health 421:15–18 (to 1st .)
Insist vehemently on the great fact which covers the whole ground, that God, Spirit, is all, and that there is none beside Him.

Science and Health 234:9–12, 26–27, 31–3
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. ...
... You must control evil thoughts in the first instance, or they will control you in the second. ...
Evil thoughts and aims reach no farther and do no more harm than one’s belief permits. 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.

Science and Health 174:9–14
The footsteps of thought, rising above material standpoints, are slow, and portend a long night to the traveller; but the angels of His presence — the spiritual intuitions that tell us when “the night is far spent, the day is at hand” — are our guardians in the gloom.

Science and Health 151:18 (only), 26
Fear never stopped being and its action. ... All that really exists is the divine Mind and its idea, and in this Mind the entire being is found harmonious and eternal. The straight and narrow way is to see and acknowledge this fact, yield to this power, and follow the leadings of truth.

Science and Health 224:29
The power of God brings deliverance to the captive. No power can withstand divine Love. What is this supposed power, which opposes itself to God? Whence cometh it? What is it that binds man with iron shackles to sin, sickness, and death? Whatever enslaves man is opposed to the divine government. Truth makes man free.

Science and Health 66:10–14
Trials are proofs of God’s care. Spiritual development germinates not from seed sown in the soil of material hopes, but when these decay, Love propagates anew the higher joys of Spirit, which have no taint of earth.

Science and Health 275:6
The starting-point of divine Science is that God, Spirit, is All-in-all, and that there is no other might nor Mind, — that God is Love, and therefore He is divine Principle.

Science and Health 537:15–16
Truth guards the gateway to harmony.

Science and Health 249:1, 6–9
Let us accept Science, relinquish all theories based on sense-testimony, give up imperfect models and illusive ideals; and so let us have one God, one Mind, and that one perfect, producing His own models of excellence.
... Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor material power as able to destroy. Let us rejoice that we are subject to the divine “powers that be.”

Science and Health 444:10
Step by step will those who trust Him find that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Hymn 201
O do not bar your mind
Against the light of good;
But open wide, let in the Word,
And Truth will be your food.

Truth will from error free
Your long enslaved mind,
And bring the light of liberty
Where it shall be enshrined.

Hid treasures it reveals
To all who know its power;
And all who will may light receive
In this most gracious hour.

Then open wide your heart
To Truth and Light and Love;
You then shall know your life is hid
With Christ in God above.

Words: Charles Parsons
Music: Henry J. Gauntlett

Hymn 240
O Spirit, source of light,
Thy grace is unconfined;
Dispel the gloomy shades of night,
Reveal the light of Mind.

Now to our eyes display
The truth Thy words reveal;
Cause us to run the heavenly way,
Delighting in Thy will.

Thy teachings make us know
The mysteries of Thy love;
The vanity of things below,
The joy of things above.

Words: Benjamin Beddome, adapted
Music: Arr. from G. F. Händel

Hymn 29
Breaking through the clouds of darkness,
Black with error, doubt, and fear;
Lighting up each somber shadow,
With a radiance soft and clear;
Filling every heart with gladness,
That its holy power feels,
Comes the Christian Science gospel,
Sin it kills and grief it heals.

Christlike in its benedictions,
Godlike in its strength sublime;
Conquering every subtle error,
With a meekness all divine,
It has gone across the ocean,
It is known in every land,
And our sisters and our brothers
Are united in one band.

Words: Florence L. Heywood
Music: Henry Smart

Keeping Watch

Wednesday Bible Readings

october 9th, 2024

From The Bible

I Kings 19:11 Go (to 4th ,), 11 a, 12

... Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, ... a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 

Isa. 59:19 When

... When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. 

Ps. 69:13 2nd O (to 5th ,), 14 (to 1st ,), 14 2nd and, 15 (to 2nd ,)

... O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, ...
Deliver me out of the mire, ... and out of the deep waters. Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, ...

Gen. 6:13 (to 1st ,), 17 behold (to 5th ,), 18 (to ;)

And God said unto Noah, ...
behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, ...
But with thee will I establish my covenant; ...

Ps. 107:15, 20, 29, 30 so

Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! ...
He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. ...
He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 
... so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. 

Mark 1:9 it (to 2nd ,), 34 (to ;); 3:7 (to :)

... it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, ...
And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; ...
But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: ...

Mark 4:37–40 (to ,), 40 how, 41 (to they), 41 said

And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, ... how is it that ye have no faith? And they ... said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? 

Matt. 24:1 (to ,), 1 3rd and, 2 (to 1st ,), 2 verily, 3 2nd the (to 1st ?), 4 (to ,), 6 see (to ,), 7, 11, 34, 37, 42, 43

And Jesus went out, ... and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, ... verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 
... the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? ...
And Jesus answered and said unto them, ... see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, ...
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. … And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. ...
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. ...
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ...
... ¶ Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 

Luke 21:36 (to 3rd ,)

Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, ...

I John 4:1

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 

Eph. 5:14 Awake

... Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 

Rev. 3:2 (to 1st ,)

Be watchful, ...

Rev. 12:7 (to :), 15, 16 (to 1st ,), 16 3rd and

And there was war in heaven: … And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, ... and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 

Rev. 12:10 (to :)

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: ...

Rev. 19:6 Alleluia

... Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

SH 1:-1

Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him. — Christ Jesus. 

SH vii:1–2

To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings. 

SH 454:5–7 (to 2nd ,)

The understanding, even in a degree, of the divine All-power destroys fear, and plants the feet in the true path, ...

SH 254:10–12

When we wait patiently on God and seek Truth righteously, He directs our path. 

SH 180:27

The only way to this living Truth, which heals the sick, is found in the Science of divine Mind as taught and demonstrated by Christ Jesus. 

SH 162:9

The effect of this Science is to stir the human mind to a change of base, on which it may yield to the harmony of the divine Mind. 

SH 275:20

Divine metaphysics, as revealed to spiritual understanding, shows clearly that all is Mind, and that Mind is God, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, — that is, all power, all presence, all Science. Hence all is in reality the manifestation of Mind. 

SH 122:1–7

The evidence of the physical senses often reverses the real Science of being, and so creates a reign of discord, — assigning seeming power to sin, sickness, and death; but the great facts of Life, rightly understood, defeat this triad of errors, contradict their false witnesses, and reveal the kingdom of heaven, — the actual reign of harmony on earth. 

SH 494:19

Reason, rightly directed, serves to correct the errors of corporeal sense; but sin, sickness, and death will seem real (even as the experiences of the sleeping dream seem real) until the Science of man’s eternal harmony breaks their illusion with the unbroken reality of scientific being. 

SH 96:12–13, 15

This material world is even now becoming the arena for conflicting forces. ... 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 288:3

The suppositional warfare between truth and error is only the mental conflict between the evidence of the spiritual senses and the testimony of the material senses, and this warfare between the Spirit and flesh will settle all questions through faith in and the understanding of divine Love. 

SH 118:26

The definitions of material law, as given by natural science, represent a kingdom necessarily divided against itself, because these definitions portray law as physical, not spiritual. Therefore they contradict the divine decrees and violate the law of Love, in which nature and God are one and the natural order of heaven comes down to earth. 

SH 293:13–16, 21

The material so-called gases and forces are counterfeits of the spiritual forces of divine Mind, whose potency is Truth, whose attraction is Love, whose adhesion and cohesion are Life, perpetuating the eternal facts of being. ...
There is no vapid fury of mortal mind — expressed in earthquake, wind, wave, lightning, fire, bestial ferocity — and this so-called mind is self-destroyed. The manifestations of evil, which counterfeit divine justice, are called in the Scriptures, “The anger of the Lord.” In reality, they show the self-destruction of error or matter and point to matter’s opposite, the strength and permanency of Spirit. Christian Science brings to light Truth and its supremacy, universal harmony, the entireness of God, good, and the nothingness of evil. 

SH 369:5

In proportion as matter loses to human sense all entity as man, in that proportion does man become its master. He enters into a diviner sense of the facts, and comprehends the theology of Jesus as demonstrated in healing the sick, raising the dead, and walking over the wave. All these deeds manifested Jesus’ control over the belief that matter is substance, that it can be the arbiter of life or the constructor of any form of existence. 

SH 149:29–31

We need to understand the affirmations of divine Science, dismiss superstition, and demonstrate truth according to Christ. 

SH 182:32–4

The law of Christ, or Truth, makes all things possible to Spirit; but the so-called laws of matter would render Spirit of no avail, and demand obedience to materialistic codes, thus departing from the basis of one God, one lawmaker. 

SH 97:7–13

According to human belief, the lightning is fierce and the electric current swift, yet in Christian Science the flight of one and the blow of the other will become harmless. The more destructive matter becomes, the more its nothingness will appear, until matter reaches its mortal zenith in illusion and forever disappears. 

SH 480:1–2, 3–5 the

When the substance of Spirit appears in Christian Science, the nothingness of matter is recognized. ... the spirit of God is, and there is no place where God is not, evil becomes nothing, — the opposite of the something of Spirit. 

SH 592:22 (only, to .), 22 knowledge

Noah. ... knowledge of the nothingness of material things and of the immortality of all that is spiritual. 

SH 264:20–21

Spirit and its formations are the only realities of being. Matter disappears under the microscope of Spirit. 

SH 450:19–22

The Christian Scientist has enlisted to lessen evil, disease, and death; and he will overcome them by understanding their nothingness and the allness of God, or good. 

SH 568:13–15 (to :); 569:3

Revelation xii. 10–12. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: ...
... Every mortal at some period, here or hereafter, must grapple with and overcome the mortal belief in a power opposed to God. 

SH 567:18–21 (to ,), 21–23 and

That false claim — that ancient belief, that old serpent whose name is devil (evil), claiming that there is intelligence in matter either to benefit or to injure men — is pure delusion, ... and it is cast out by Christ, Truth, the spiritual idea, and so proved to be powerless. 

SH 570:8–11 (to 1st ,), 11 2nd and, 18–21, 24

Revelation xii. 15, 16. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood, after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, ... and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 
... What if the old dragon should send forth a new flood to drown the Christ-idea? He can neither drown your voice with its roar, nor again sink the world into the deep waters of chaos and old night. ... The waters will be pacified, and Christ will command the wave. 

Hymn. 183

Make haste, O man, to do / Whatever must be done; / Thou hast no time to lose in sloth, / When all to Truth must come. 

The useful and the great, / The thing that never dies, / The silent toil that is not lost,— / Set these before thine eyes. 

Up, face the task and work; / Fling ease and self away; / This is no time for thee to sleep; / Up, watch, and work, and pray. 

Words: Horatius Bonar, adapted

Music: Mason and Webb’s Cantica Laudis, 1850

Hymn. 539

O gentle presence, peace and joy and power; / O Life divine, that owns each waiting hour, / Thou Love that guards the nestling’s faltering flight! / Keep Thou my child on upward wing tonight. 

Love is our refuge; only with mine eye / Can I behold the snare, the pit, the fall: / His habitation high is here, and nigh, / His arm encircles me, and mine, and all. 

O make me glad for every scalding tear, / For hope deferred, ingratitude, disdain! / Wait, and love more for every hate, and fear / No ill,—since God is good, and loss is gain. 

Beneath the shadow of His mighty wing; / In that sweet secret of the narrow way, / Seeking and finding, with the angels sing: / “Lo, I am with you alway,”—watch and pray. 

No snare, no fowler, pestilence or pain; / No night drops down upon the troubled breast, / When heaven’s aftersmile earth’s tear-drops gain, / And mother finds her home and heav’nly rest. 

Words: Mary Baker Eddy

Music: Lisa Redfern; arr. CSPS

Hymn. 10

All power is given unto our Lord, / On Him we place reliance; / With truth from out His sacred word / We bid our foes defiance. / With Him we shall prevail, / Whatever may assail; / He is our shield and tower, / Almighty is His power; / His kingdom is forever. 

Rejoice, ye people, praise His name, / His care doth e’er surround us. / His love to error’s thralldom came, / And from its chains unbound us. / Our Lord is God alone, / No other power we own; / No other voice we heed, / No other help we need; / His kingdom is forever. 

O then give thanks to God on high, / Who life to all is giving; / The hosts of death before Him fly, / In Him we all are living. / Then let us know no fear, / Our King is ever near; / Our stay and fortress strong, / Our strength, our hope, our song; / His kingdom is forever. 

Words: Frederic W. Root based on hymn by Martin Luther

Music: Martin Luther

Scientific Mental Healing

Wednesday Bible Readings

oCTOBER 2ND, 2024

From The Bible

¶ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28)

¶ And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. ...

But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
(Matthew 14:22, 24–32)

And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
(II Thessalonians 1:7)

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ...

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. ...

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
(Hebrews 4:9–12, 14, 16)

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
(II Corinthians 12:9)

¶ Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.
(Jeremiah 30:10)

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
(Zephaniah 3:17)

... the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
(John 14:26 the, 27)

Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
(Acts 2:26–28)

For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: ...
(Isaiah 30:15 (to :))

... My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
(Exodus 33:14 My)

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures

When the ocean is stirred by a storm, then the clouds lower, the wind shrieks through the tightened shrouds, and the waves lift themselves into mountains. We ask the helmsman: “Do you know your course? Can you steer safely amid the storm?” He answers bravely, but even the dauntless seaman is not sure of his safety; nautical science is not equal to the Science of Mind.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 67:4–11)

WIND. That which indicates the might of omnipotence and the movements of God’s spiritual government, encompassing all things. Destruction; anger; mortal passions.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 597:27)

The lightnings and thunderbolts of error may burst and flash till the cloud is cleared and the tumult dies away in the distance. Then the raindrops of divinity refresh the earth. As St. Paul says: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” (of Spirit).
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 288:14)

The testimony of the material senses is neither absolute nor divine. I therefore plant myself unreservedly on the teachings of Jesus, of his apostles, of the prophets, and on the testimony of the Science of Mind. Other foundations there are none. All other systems — systems based wholly or partly on knowledge gained through the material senses — are reeds shaken by the wind, not houses built on the rock.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 269:21)

Mortal testimony can be shaken.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 297:28 (only))

The struggle for Truth makes one strong instead of weak, resting instead of wearying one.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 426:9–11)

Faith should enlarge its borders and strengthen its base by resting upon Spirit instead of matter.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 430:6–7)

God rests in action. Imparting has not impoverished, can never impoverish, the divine Mind. No exhaustion follows the action of this Mind, according to the apprehension of divine Science. The highest and sweetest rest, even from a human standpoint, is in holy work.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 519:25)

We should master fear, instead of cultivating it.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 197:16 (only))

This human belief, alternating between a sense of pleasure and pain, hope and fear, life and death, never reaches beyond the boundary of the mortal or the unreal. When the real is attained, which is announced by Science, joy is no longer a trembler, nor is hope a cheat.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 298:16–20)

Had Blondin believed it impossible to walk the rope over Niagara’s abyss of waters, he could never have done it. His belief that he could do it gave his thought-forces, called muscles, their flexibility and power which the unscientific might attribute to a lubricating oil. His fear must have disappeared before his power of putting resolve into action could appear.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 199:25)

Mortals are inclined to fear and to obey what they consider a material body more than they do a spiritual God. All material knowledge, like the original “tree of knowledge,” multiplies their pains, for mortal illusions would rob God, slay man, and meanwhile would spread their table with cannibal tidbits and give thanks.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 214:19)

Nothing but the power of Truth can prevent the fear of error, and prove man’s dominion over error.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 380:19)

Christian Science silences human will, quiets fear with Truth and Love, and illustrates the unlabored motion of the divine energy in healing the sick.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 445:19–21)

Individuals are consistent who, watching and praying, can “run, and not be weary; . . . walk, and not faint,” who gain good rapidly and hold their position, or attain slowly and yield not to discouragement.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 254:2–6)

Mind’s infinite ideas run and disport themselves.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 514:7–8)

Thus it is with man, who is but the humble servant of the restful Mind, though it seems otherwise to finite sense.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, pp. 119:31–1)

Fright is so great at certain stages of mortal belief as to drive belief into new paths.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 251:7–8)

As frightened children look everywhere for the imaginary ghost, so sick humanity sees danger in every direction, and looks for relief in all ways except the right one.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 371:11–14 (to 1st .))

In short, children should be told not to believe in ghosts, because there are no such things. If belief in their reality is destroyed, terror of ghosts will depart and health be restored. The objects of alarm will then vanish into nothingness, no longer seeming worthy of fear or honor.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 352:26–30)

If a child is exposed to contagion or infection, the mother is frightened and says, “My child will be sick.” The law of mortal mind and her own fears govern her child more than the child’s mind governs itself, and they produce the very results which might have been prevented through the opposite understanding.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 154:16–21)

Truth’s immortal idea is sweeping down the centuries, gathering beneath its wings the sick and sinning. ... The promises will be fulfilled. The time for the reappearing of the divine healing is throughout all time; and whosoever layeth his earthly all on the altar of divine Science, drinketh of Christ’s cup now, and is endued with the spirit and power of Christian healing.

In the words of St. John: “He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.”
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 55:15–16, 21–28)

When we reach our limits of mental endurance, we conclude that intellectual labor has been carried sufficiently far; but when we realize that immortal Mind is ever active, and that spiritual energies can neither wear out nor can so-called material law trespass upon God-given powers and resources, we are able to rest in Truth, refreshed by the assurances of immortality, opposed to mortality.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 387:5)

When mentality gives rest to the body, the next toil will fatigue you less, for you are working out the problem of being in divine metaphysics; and in proportion as you understand the control which Mind has over so-called matter, you will be able to demonstrate this control.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 217:19–24)

Where shall the gaze rest but in the unsearchable realm of Mind?
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 264:9–10)

The highest and sweetest rest, even from a human standpoint, is in holy work.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 519:28)

Christian Science, understood, coincides with the Scriptures, and sustains logically and demonstratively every point it presents. ... It presents the calm and clear verdict of Truth against error, uttered and illustrated by the prophets, by Jesus, by his apostles, as is recorded throughout the Scriptures.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 358:9–11, 15)

Let neither fear nor doubt overshadow your clear sense and calm trust, that the recognition of life harmonious — as Life eternally is — can destroy any painful sense of, or belief in, that which Life is not.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 495:16–20)

The consciousness of Truth rests us more than hours of repose in unconsciousness.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 218:7)