Theme: Rejoice
Hymn 168
10th Century – Richard Mant, Tr. – Adapted
Let all the earth with songs rejoice;
Let heaven return the joyful voice;
All mindful of our God's great name,
Let every man His praise proclaim.
Ye servants who once bore the light
Of Gospel truth o'er darkest night,
Still may our work that light impart,
To glad the eyes and cheer the heart.
O God, by whom to them was given
The key that shuts and opens heaven,
Our chains unbind, our loss repair,
Reveal Thy power through answered prayer.
For at Thy will they preached the Word
Which cured disease, which health conferred:
And now, that healing power once more
Our peace and health to us restore.
Readings from the Bible.
I Chronicles 16:8‑12,14,15,23‑34
Give thanks unto the Lord,
call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye
of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in
his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face
continually. Remember his marvellous
works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
He is the Lord our God; his
judgments are in all the earth. Be ye
mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand
generations;
Sing unto the Lord, all the
earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen: his
marvellous works among all nations. For
great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all
gods. For all the gods of the people are
idols: but the Lord made the heavens.
Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his
place.
Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory
and strength. Give unto the Lord the
glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the
Lord in the beauty of holiness. Fear
before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not
moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let
the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigneth. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof:
let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein. Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at
the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good;
for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalms 5:1‑4,11 let,12
Give ear to my words, O Lord,
consider my meditation. Hearken unto the
voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O
Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in
wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
let all those that put their
trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest
them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous;
with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
Psalms 33:1‑9,20‑22
Rejoice in the Lord, O ye
righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with
the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. For the word of the Lord is right; and all
his works are done in truth. He loveth
righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. By the word of the Lord were the heavens
made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together
as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the
inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
Our soul waiteth for the
Lord: he is our help and our shield. For
our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according
as we hope in thee.
Psalms 63:1‑7
O God, thou art my God; early
will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a
dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as
I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise
thee. Thus will I bless thee while I
live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth
shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and
meditate on thee in the night watches.
Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings
will I rejoice.
Psalms 70:4
Let all those that seek thee
rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say
continually, Let God be magnified.
Psalms 105:1‑5
O give thanks unto the Lord;
call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye
of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in
his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his
face evermore. Remember his marvellous
works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
Isaiah 61:10,11
I will greatly rejoice in the
Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the
garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a
bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with
her jewels. For as the earth bringeth
forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to
spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring
forth before all the nations.
Matthew 5:1‑12 seeing
seeing the multitudes, he
went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And
he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Blessed are the poor in spirit:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit
the earth.
Blessed are they which do
hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall
obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in
heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed
are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for
righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you,
and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my
sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad:
for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which
were before you.
Romans 5:1,2
Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we
have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of
the glory of God.
Philippians 3:1 (to 1st .)
Finally, my brethren, rejoice
in the Lord.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
15:25
Christians rejoice in secret beauty and
bounty, hidden from the world, but known to God. Self‑forgetfulness, purity, and affection are
constant prayers. Practice not
profession, understanding not belief, gain the ear and right hand of
omnipotence and they assuredly call down infinite blessings. Trustworthiness is the foundation of
enlightened faith. Without a fitness for
holiness, we cannot receive holiness.
22:23
Final deliverance from error, whereby we
rejoice in immortality, boundless freedom, and sinless sense, is not reached
through paths of flowers nor by pinning one's faith without works to another's
vicarious effort. Whosoever believeth
that wrath is righteous or that divinity is appeased by human suffering, does
not understand God.
28:32
There is too much animal courage in society
and not sufficient moral courage.
Christians must take up arms against error at home and abroad. They must grapple with sin in themselves and
in others, and continue this warfare until they have finished their
course. If they keep the faith, they
will have the crown of rejoicing.
140:4
That God is a corporeal being, nobody can
truly affirm. The Bible represents Him
as saying: "Thou canst not see My face; for there shall no man see Me, and
live." Not materially but
spiritually we know Him as divine Mind, as Life, Truth, and Love. We shall obey and adore in proportion as we
apprehend the divine nature and love Him understandingly, warring no more over
the corporeality, but rejoicing in the affluence of our God. Religion will then be of the heart and not of
the head. Mankind will no longer be
tyrannical and proscriptive from lack of love,‑‑straining out gnats and
swallowing camels.
249:6
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." Such
is the true Science of being. Any other
theory of Life, or God, is delusive and mythological.
265:23‑5
Who that has felt the loss of human peace has
not gained stronger desires for spiritual joy?
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.
The pains of sense are salutary, if they
wrench away false pleasurable beliefs and transplant the affections from sense
to Soul, where the creations of God are good, "rejoicing the heart." Such is the sword of Science, with which
Truth decapitates error, materiality giving place to man's higher individuality
and destiny.
342:21
Christian Science awakens the sinner,
reclaims the infidel, and raises from the couch of pain the helpless
invalid. It speaks to the dumb the words
of Truth, and they answer with rejoicing.
It causes the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, and the blind to see. Who would be the first to disown the
Christliness of good works, when our Master says, "By their fruits ye shall
know them"?
354:26
Sin should become unreal to every one. It is in itself inconsistent, a divided
kingdom. Its supposed realism has no
divine authority, and I rejoice in the apprehension of this grand verity.
562:11
The spiritual idea is crowned with twelve
stars. The twelve tribes of Israel with
all mortals,‑‑separated by belief from man's divine origin and the true idea,‑‑will
through much tribulation yield to the activities of the divine Principle of man
in the harmony of Science. These are the
stars in the crown of rejoicing. They
are the lamps in the spiritual heavens of the age, which show the workings of
the spiritual idea by healing the sick and the sinning, and by manifesting the
light which shines "unto the perfect day" as the night of materialism
wanes.
568:13‑14 np
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: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down,
which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the
Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto
the death. Therefore rejoice, ye
heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe
to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto
you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
For victory over a single sin, we give thanks
and magnify the Lord of Hosts. What
shall we say of the mighty conquest over all sin? A louder song, sweeter than has ever before
reached high heaven, now rises clearer and nearer to the great heart of Christ;
for the accuser is not there, and Love sends forth her primal and everlasting
strain. Self‑abnegation, by which we lay
down all for Truth, or Christ, in our warfare against error, is a rule in
Christian Science. This rule clearly
interprets God as divine Principle,‑‑as Life, represented by the Father; as
Truth, represented by the Son; as Love, represented by the Mother. Every mortal at some period, here or
hereafter, must grapple with and overcome the mortal belief in a power opposed
to God.
The Scripture, "Thou hast been faithful
over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many," is literally
fulfilled, when we are conscious of the supremacy of Truth, by which the
nothingness of error is seen; and we know that the nothingness of error is in
proportion to its wickedness. He that
touches the hem of Christ's robe and masters his mortal beliefs, animality, and
hate, rejoices in the proof of healing,‑‑in a sweet and certain sense that God
is Love.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 304
"Feed My Sheep" – Mary Baker Eddy
Shepherd, show me how to go
O'er the hillside steep,
How to gather, how to sow,‑‑
How to feed Thy sheep;
I will listen for Thy voice,
Lest my footsteps stray;
I will follow and rejoice
All the rugged way.
Thou wilt bind the stubborn will,
Wound
the callous breast,
Make self‑righteousness be still,
Break earth's stupid rest.
Strangers on a barren shore,
Lab'ring long and lone,
We would enter by the door,
And Thou know'st Thine own;
So, when day grows dark and cold,
Tear or triumph harms,
Lead Thy lambkins to the fold,
Take them in Thine arms;
Feed the hungry, heal the heart,
Till the morning's beam;
White as wool, ere they depart,
Shepherd, wash them clean.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 342
Laura Lee Randall
This is the day the Lord hath made;
Be glad, give thanks, rejoice;
Stand in His presence, unafraid,
In praise lift up your voice.
All perfect gifts are from above,
And all our blessings show
The amplitude of God's dear love
Which every heart may know.
The Lord will hear before we call,
And every need supply;
Good things are freely given to all
Who on His word rely.
We come today to bring Him praise
Not for such gifts alone,
But for the higher, deeper ways
In which His love is shown.
For sin destroyed, for sorrow healed,
For health and peace restored;
For Life and Love by Truth revealed,
We thank and bless the Lord.
This is the day the Lord hath made,
In praise lift up your voice.
In shining robes of joy arrayed,
Be glad, give thanks, rejoice.
