Subject: Progress
(Continuation of the story of Moses in the Wilderness)
Hymn 268
Emily F. Seal
Our God is All‑in‑all,
His children cannot fear;
See baseless evil fall,
And know that God is here.
Our God is All; in space
No subtle error creeps;
We see Truth's glowing face,
And Love that never sleeps.
We see creative Mind,
The Principle, the Life;
And Soul and substance find,
But never discord, strife.
O, Perfect and Divine,
We hear Thy loving call,
And seek no earthly shrine
But crown Thee Lord of all.
Readings from the Bible.
Exodus 25:1,2 (to :),10,11,16
And the Lord spake unto
Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an
offering:
#And they shall make an ark
of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit
and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold,
within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of
gold round about.
And thou shalt put into the ark
the testimony which I shall give thee.
Numbers 9:15‑17
#And on the day that the
tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of
the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the
appearance of fire, until the morning. So
it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by
night. And when the cloud was taken up
from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in
the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their
tents.
Numbers 13:1,2,17‑20,23‑28,30‑33
And the Lord spake unto
Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I
give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send
a man, every one a ruler among them.
#And Moses sent them to spy
out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and
go up into the mountain: And see the land, what it is; and the people that
dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; And what the
land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be
that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; And what the land is,
whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of
good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of
the firstripe grapes.
And they came unto the brook
of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and
they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates,
and of the figs. The place was called
the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel
cut down from thence. And they returned
from searching of the land after forty days.
#And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the
congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to
Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and
shewed them the fruit of the land. And
they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and
surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are
walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
And Caleb stilled the people
before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well
able to overcome it. But the men that
went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are
stronger than we. And they brought up an
evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel,
saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth
up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a
great stature. And there we saw the
giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own
sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Numbers 14:1‑3,6‑11,22‑24
And all the congregation
lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured
against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them,
Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in
this wilderness! And wherefore hath the
Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our
children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
#And Joshua the son of Nun,
and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent
their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel,
saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good
land. If the Lord delight in us, then he
will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk
and honey. Only rebel not ye against the
Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their
defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not. But all the congregation bade stone them with
stones. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the
congregation before all the children of Israel.
#And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and
how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed
among them?
Because all those men which
have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the
wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to
my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers,
neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: But my servant Caleb,
because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I
bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
Numbers 20:1‑4,7‑12,14‑18,21,22
Then came the children of
Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month:
and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried
there. And there was no water for the
congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against
Aaron. And the people chode with Moses,
and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the
Lord! And why have ye brought up the
congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should
die there?
#And the Lord spake unto
Moses, saying, Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and
Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall
give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock:
so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the Lord,
as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron
gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear
now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his
rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the
congregation drank, and their beasts also.
#And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to
sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring
this congregation into the land which I have given them.
#And Moses sent messengers
from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest
all the travail that hath befallen us: How our fathers went down into Egypt,
and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our
fathers: And when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an
angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a
city in the uttermost of thy border: Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country:
we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we
drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's high way, we will not
turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders. And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass
by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.
Thus Edom refused to give
Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him. #And the children of Israel, even the whole
congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor.
Numbers 21:4,10
#And they journeyed from
mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul
of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
#And the children of Israel
set forward, and pitched in Oboth.
Numbers 26:63‑65
#These are they that were
numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel
in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.
But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the
priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of
Sinai. For the Lord had said of them,
They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them,
save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
Numbers 27:12‑14 (to 1st
,),15‑19,22,23
#And the Lord said unto
Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given
unto the children of Israel. And when
thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy
brother was gathered. For ye rebelled
against my commandment in the desert of Zin,
#And Moses spake unto the
Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over
the congregation, Which may go out before them, and which may go in before
them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the
congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd. #And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua
the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; And
set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give
him a charge in their sight.
And Moses did as the Lord
commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before
all the congregation: And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as
the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.
Numbers 33:50‑52,54 (to 1st
:)
#And the Lord spake unto
Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, Speak unto the
children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the
land of Canaan; Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from
before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten
images, and quite pluck down all their high places:
And ye shall divide the land
by lot for an inheritance among your families:
Numbers 35:34
Defile not therefore the land
which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the Lord dwell among the
children of Israel.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
494:25‑20
Which of these two theories concerning man
are you ready to accept? One is the
mortal testimony, changing, dying, unreal.
The other is the eternal and real evidence, bearing Truth's signet, its
lap piled high with immortal fruits.
Our Master cast out devils (evils) and healed
the sick. It should be said of his
followers also, that they cast fear and all evil out of themselves and others
and heal the sick. God will heal the
sick through man, whenever man is governed by God. Truth casts out error now as surely as it did
nineteen centuries ago. All of Truth is
not understood; hence its healing power is not fully demonstrated.
If sickness is true or the idea of Truth, you
cannot destroy sickness, and it would be absurd to try. Then classify sickness and error as our
Master did, when he spoke of the sick, "whom Satan hath bound," and
find a sovereign antidote for error in the life‑giving power of Truth acting on
human belief, a power which opens the prison doors to such as are bound, and
sets the captive free physically and morally.
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.
232:32‑10
There is neither place nor opportunity in
Science for error of any sort. Every day
makes its demands upon us for higher proofs rather than professions of
Christian power. These proofs consist
solely in the destruction of sin, sickness, and death by the power of Spirit,
as Jesus destroyed them. This is an
element of progress, and progress is the law of God, whose law demands of us
only what we can certainly fulfil.
In the midst of imperfection, perfection is
seen and acknowledged only by degrees.
The ages must slowly work up to perfection.
353:13
The age has not wholly outlived the sense of
ghostly beliefs. It still holds them
more or less. Time has not yet reached
eternity, immortality, complete reality.
All the real is eternal.
Perfection underlies reality.
Without perfection, nothing is wholly real. All things will continue to disappear, until
perfection appears and reality is reached.
We must give up the spectral at all points. We must not continue to admit the
somethingness of superstition, but we must yield up all belief in it and be
wise. When we learn that error is not
real, we shall be ready for progress, "forgetting those things which are
behind."
256:1
Progress takes off human shackles. The finite must yield to the infinite. Advancing to a higher plane of action, thought
rises from the material sense to the spiritual, from the scholastic to the
inspirational, and from the mortal to the immortal. All things are created spiritually. Mind, not matter, is the creator. Love, the divine Principle, is the Father and
Mother of the universe, including man.
67:30
Systems of religion and medicine treat of
physical pains and pleasures, but Jesus rebuked the suffering from any such
cause or effect. The epoch approaches
when the understanding of the truth of being will be the basis of true
religion. At present mortals progress
slowly for fear of being thought ridiculous.
They are slaves to fashion, pride, and sense. Sometime we shall learn how Spirit, the great
architect, has created men and women in Science. We ought to weary of the fleeting and false
and to cherish nothing which hinders our highest selfhood.
224:4
As the crude footprints of the past disappear
from the dissolving paths of the present, we shall better understand the
Science which governs these changes, and shall plant our feet on firmer
ground. Every sensuous pleasure or pain
is self‑destroyed through suffering.
There should be painless progress, attended by life and peace instead of
discord and death.
239:16
To ascertain our progress, we must learn
where our affections are placed and whom we acknowledge and obey as God. If divine Love is becoming nearer, dearer,
and more real to us, matter is then submitting to Spirit. The objects we pursue and the spirit we
manifest reveal our standpoint, and show what we are winning.
296:4‑30
Progress is born of experience. It is the ripening of mortal man, through
which the mortal is dropped for the immortal.
Either here or hereafter, suffering or Science must destroy all
illusions regarding life and mind, and regenerate material sense and self. The old man with his deeds must be put
off. Nothing sensual or sinful is
immortal. The death of a false material
sense and of sin, not the death of organic matter, is what reveals man and
Life, harmonious, real, and eternal.
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.
Whether mortals will learn this sooner or
later, and how long they will suffer the pangs of destruction, depends upon the
tenacity of error.
The knowledge obtained from the corporeal
senses leads to sin and death. When the
evidence of Spirit and matter, Truth and error, seems to commingle, it rests
upon foundations which time is wearing away.
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.
297:20
Faith is higher and more spiritual than
belief. It is a chrysalis state of human
thought, in which spiritual evidence, contradicting the testimony of material
sense, begins to appear, and Truth, the ever‑present, is becoming
understood. Human thoughts have their
degrees of comparison. Some thoughts are
better than others. A belief in Truth is
better than a belief in error, but no mortal testimony is founded on the divine
rock. Mortal testimony can be
shaken. Until belief becomes faith, and
faith becomes spiritual understanding, human thought has little relation to the
actual or divine.
426:5
The
discoverer of Christian Science finds the path less difficult when she has the
high goal always before her thoughts, than when she counts her footsteps in
endeavoring to reach it. When the
destination is desirable, expectation speeds our progress. The struggle for Truth makes one strong
instead of weak, resting instead of wearying one. If the belief in death were obliterated, and
the understanding obtained that there is no death, this would be a "tree
of life," known by its fruits. Man
should renew his energies and endeavors, and see the folly of hypocrisy, while
also learning the necessity of working out his own salvation. When it is learned that disease cannot
destroy life, and that mortals are not saved from sin or sickness by death,
this understanding will quicken into newness of life. It will master either a desire to die or a
dread of the grave, and thus destroy the great fear that besets mortal
existence.
323:28
The effects of Christian Science are not so
much seen as felt. It is the
"still, small voice" of Truth uttering itself. We are either turning away from this
utterance, or we are listening to it and going up higher. Willingness to become as a little child and
to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced
idea. Gladness to leave the false
landmarks and joy to see them disappear,‑‑this disposition helps to precipitate
the ultimate harmony. The purification
of sense and self is a proof of progress.
"Blessed are the pure in heart:
for they shall see God."
492:7‑12
Being is holiness, harmony, immortality. It is already proved that a knowledge of
this, even in small degree, will uplift the physical and moral standard of
mortals, will increase longevity, will purify and elevate character. Thus progress will finally destroy all error,
and bring immortality to light.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 115
John M. Neale – Adapted
Holy Father, Thou hast taught us
We should live to Thee alone;
Year by year, Thy hand hath brought us
On through dangers oft unknown.
When we wandered, Thou hast found us;
When we doubted, sent us light;
Still Thine arm has been around us,
All our paths were in Thy sight.
We would trust in Thy protecting,
Wholly rest upon Thine arm,
Follow wholly Thy directing,
Thou our only guard from harm.
Keep us from our own undoing,
Help us turn to Thee when tried,
Still our strength in Thee renewing,
Keep us ever at Thy side.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 269
Frederic W. Root
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.
