Responsive Reading: Psalm 62 : 1, 2, 5-8, 11

1.     Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.

2.     He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.

5.     My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

6.     He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

7.     In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

8.     Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.

11.     God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.

1. John 5 : 44

44     How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

2. Hebrews 11 : 6 (he that)

6     …he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

3. II Kings 18 : 1, 3, 5-7 (to :), 9, 10 (to :), 11 (to 1st ,), 13, 17 (to 1st .), 19, 20, 28 (Hear), 29 (Let), 30, 36, 37

1     Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.

3     And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did.

5     He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.

6     For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses.

7     And the Lord was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth:

9     And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.

10     And at the end of three years they took it:

11     And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria,

13     Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.

17     And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rabsaris and Rab-shakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great host against Jerusalem.

19     And Rab-shakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?

20     Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?

28     Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria:

29     Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand:

30     Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

36     But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.

37     Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rab-shakeh.

4. II Kings 19 : 1, 2, 6, 7 (to ;), 14, 15, 19, 20, 32 (He)-34

1     And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.

2     And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

6     And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

7     Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land;

14     And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.

15     And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

19     Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.

20     Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.

32     He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

33     By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord.

34     For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.

5. John 17 : 1 (to 3rd ,), 3 (this), 11 (Holy), 13, 17, 20, 21, 26 (that)

1     These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said,

3     …this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

11     Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

13     And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

17     Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

20     Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

21     That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

26     …that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

6. Jude 1 : 25

25     To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

1. 502 : 27-29

The creative Principle — Life, Truth, and Love — is God. The universe reflects God. There is but one creator and one creation.

2. 9 : 17-24

Dost thou "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind"? This command includes much, even the surrender of all merely material sensation, affection, and worship. This is the El Dorado of Christianity. It involves the Science of Life, and recognizes only the divine control of Spirit, in which Soul is our master, and material sense and human will have no place.

3. 167 : 17-19

To have one God and avail yourself of the power of Spirit, you must love God supremely.

4. 119 : 21-24

God is natural good, and is represented only by the idea of goodness; while evil should be regarded as unnatural, because it is opposed to the nature of Spirit, God.

5. 109 : 4-10

Christian Science reveals incontrovertibly that Mind is All-in-all, that the only realities are the divine Mind and idea. This great fact is not, however, seen to be supported by sensible evidence, until its divine Principle is demonstrated by healing the sick and thus proved absolute and divine. This proof once seen, no other conclusion can be reached.

6. 301 : 5-23

Few persons comprehend what Christian Science means by the word reflection. To himself, mortal and material man seems to be substance, but his sense of substance involves error and therefore is material, temporal.

On the other hand, the immortal, spiritual man is really substantial, and reflects the eternal substance, or Spirit, which mortals hope for. He reflects the divine, which constitutes the only real and eternal entity. This reflection seems to mortal sense transcendental, because the spiritual man's substantiality transcends mortal vision and is revealed only through divine Science.

As God is substance and man is the divine image and likeness, man should wish for, and in reality has, only the substance of good, the substance of Spirit, not matter. The belief that man has any other substance, or mind, is not spiritual and breaks the First Commandment, Thou shalt have one God, one Mind.

7. 91 : 5-8

Let us rid ourselves of the belief that man is separated from God, and obey only the divine Principle, Life and Love. Here is the great point of departure for all true spiritual growth.

8. 106 : 7-11

God has endowed man with inalienable rights, among which are self-government, reason, and conscience. Man is properly self-governed only when he is guided rightly and governed by his Maker, divine Truth and Love.

9. 31 : 4 (to .), 10-13

Jesus acknowledged no ties of the flesh.

He recognized Spirit, God, as the only creator, and therefore as the Father of all.

First in the list of Christian duties, he taught his followers the healing power of Truth and Love.

10. 166 : 15-17 next page

The erring human mind is inharmonious in itself. From it arises the inharmonious body. To ignore God as of little use in sickness is a mistake. Instead of thrusting Him aside in times of bodily trouble, and waiting for the hour of strength in which to acknowledge Him, we should learn that He can do all things for us in sickness as in health.

Failing to recover health through adherence to physiology and hygiene, the despairing invalid often drops them, and in his extremity and only as a last resort, turns to God. The invalid's faith in the divine Mind is less than in drugs, air, and exercise, or he would have resorted to Mind first. The balance of power is conceded to be with matter by most of the medical systems; but when Mind at last asserts its mastery over sin, disease, and death, then is man found to be harmonious and immortal.

Should we implore a corporeal God to heal the sick out of His personal volition, or should we understand the infinite divine Principle which heals? If we rise no higher than blind faith, the Science of healing is not attained, and Soul-existence, in the place of sense-existence, is not comprehended. We apprehend Life in divine Science only as we live above corporeal sense and correct it. Our proportionate admission of the claims of good or of evil determines the harmony of our existence, — our health, our longevity, and our Christianity.

We cannot serve two masters nor perceive divine Science with the material senses. Drugs and hygiene cannot successfully usurp the place and power of the divine source of all health and perfection. If God made man both good and evil, man must remain thus. What can improve God's work? Again, an error in the premise must appear in the conclusion.

11. 264 : 13-21

As mortals gain more correct views of God and man, multitudinous objects of creation, which before were invisible, will become visible. When we realize that Life is Spirit, never in nor of matter, this understanding will expand into self-completeness, finding all in God, good, and needing no other consciousness.

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

12. 11 : 22-32 (to 2nd .)

We know that a desire for holiness is requisite in order to gain holiness; but if we desire holiness above all else, we shall sacrifice everything for it. We must be willing to do this, that we may walk securely in the only practical road to holiness. Prayer cannot change the unalterable Truth, nor can prayer alone give us an understanding of Truth; but prayer, coupled with a fervent habitual desire to know and do the will of God, will bring us into all Truth. Such a desire has little need of audible expression. It is best expressed in thought and in life.

13. 29 : 14-16

Those instructed in Christian Science have reached the glorious perception that God is the only author of man.