Responsive Reading: Psalm 37 : 16-19, 23, 25, 28, 29

16.     A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.

17.     For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.

18.     The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.

19.     They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

23.     The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.

25.     I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

28.     For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

29.     The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

1. Exodus 20 : 1, 17

1     And God spake all these words, saying,

17     Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

2. Ecclesiastes 5 : 7, 9, 10, 12-14 (to :), 18-20

7     For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

9     Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.

10     He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

12     The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.

13     There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

14     But those riches perish by evil travail:

18     Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.

19     Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

20     For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

3. Acts 8 : 5-9, 11-13 (to :), 14, 15, 17-22, 24

5     Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

6     And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

7     For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.

8     And there was great joy in that city.

9     But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

11     And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

12     But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

13     Then Simon himself believed also:

14     Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

15     Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:

17     Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

18     And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,

19     Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

20     But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

21     Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

22     Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

24     Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.

4. II Corinthians 10 : 13, 15 (to ;), 17, 18

13     But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.

15     Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours;

17     But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

18     For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.

5. II Corinthians 9 : 6 (He)-8

6     He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

7     Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

8     And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

6. Hebrews 13 : 1, 2, 5, 6 (to 2nd ,), 20, 21

1     Let brotherly love continue.

2     Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

5     Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

6     So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper,

20     Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

21     Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

1. 60 : 31-11

Higher enjoyments alone can satisfy the cravings of immortal man. We cannot circumscribe happiness within the limits of personal sense. The senses confer no real enjoyment.

The good in human affections must have ascendency over the evil and the spiritual over the animal, or happiness will never be won. The attainment of this celestial condition would improve our progeny, diminish crime, and give higher aims to ambition. Every valley of sin must be exalted, and every mountain of selfishness be brought low, that the highway of our God may be prepared in Science.

2. 57 : 15-21

Beauty, wealth, or fame is incompetent to meet the demands of the affections, and should never weigh against the better claims of intellect, goodness, and virtue. Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it.

3. 181 : 21-14

If you are too material to love the Science of Mind and are satisfied with good words instead of effects, if you adhere to error and are afraid to trust Truth, the question then recurs, "Adam, where art thou?" It is unnecessary to resort to aught besides Mind in order to satisfy the sick that you are doing something for them, for if they are cured, they generally know it and are satisfied.

"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." If you have more faith in drugs than in Truth, this faith will incline you to the side of matter and error. Any hypnotic power you may exercise will diminish your ability to become a Scientist, and vice versa. The act of healing the sick through divine Mind alone, of casting out error with Truth, shows your position as a Christian Scientist.

The demands of God appeal to thought only; but the claims of mortality, and what are termed laws of nature, appertain to matter. Which, then, are we to accept as legitimate and capable of producing the highest human good? We cannot obey both physiology and Spirit, for one absolutely destroys the other, and one or the other must be supreme in the affections. It is impossible to work from two standpoints. If we attempt it, we shall presently "hold to the one, and despise the other."

4. 272 : 19-25

It is the spiritualization of thought and Christianization of daily life, in contrast with the results of the ghastly farce of material existence; it is chastity and purity, in contrast with the downward tendencies and earthward gravitation of sensualism and impurity, which really attest the divine origin and operation of Christian Science.

5. 445 : 27-4

There is great danger in teaching Mind-healing indiscriminately, thus disregarding the morals of the student and caring only for the fees. Recalling Jefferson's words about slavery, "I tremble, when I remember that God is just," the author trembles whenever she sees a man, for the petty consideration of money, teaching his slight knowledge of Mind-power, — perhaps communicating his own bad morals, and in this way dealing pitilessly with a community unprepared for self-defence.

6. 239 : 5-10

Take away wealth, fame, and social organizations, which weigh not one jot in the balance of God, and we get clearer views of Principle. Break up cliques, level wealth with honesty, let worth be judged according to wisdom, and we get better views of humanity.

7. 296 : 14-18, 26-30

The so-called pleasures and pains of matter perish, and they must go out under the blaze of Truth, spiritual sense, and the actuality of being. Mortal belief must lose all satisfaction in error and sin in order to part with them.

Mortal mind judges by the testimony of the material senses, until Science obliterates this false testimony. An improved belief is one step out of error, and aids in taking the next step and in understanding the situation in Christian Science.

8. 62 : 20-28

We must not attribute more and more intelligence to matter, but less and less, if we would be wise and healthy. The divine Mind, which forms the bud and blossom, will care for the human body, even as it clothes the lily; but let no mortal interfere with God's government by thrusting in the laws of erring, human concepts.

The higher nature of man is not governed by the lower; if it were, the order of wisdom would be reversed.

9. 407 : 6-20

Man's enslavement to the most relentless masters — passion, selfishness, envy, hatred, and revenge — is conquered only by a mighty struggle. Every hour of delay makes the struggle more severe. If man is not victorious over the passions, they crush out happiness, health, and manhood. Here Christian Science is the sovereign panacea, giving strength to the weakness of mortal mind, — strength from the immortal and omnipotent Mind, — and lifting humanity above itself into purer desires, even into spiritual power and good-will to man.

Let the slave of wrong desire learn the lessons of Christian Science, and he will get the better of that desire, and ascend a degree in the scale of health, happiness, and existence.

10. 265 : 24-30

The aspiration after heavenly good comes even before we discover what belongs to wisdom and Love. The loss of earthly hopes and pleasures brightens the ascending path of many a heart. The pains of sense quickly inform us that the pleasures of sense are mortal and that joy is spiritual.

11. 66 : 11-16

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. Each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love.

12. 60 : 2-3

Science inevitably lifts one's being higher in the scale of harmony and happiness.