Theme: Everlasting
Hymn 53
Based on a hymn by John R. Macduff
Everlasting arms of Love
Are beneath, around, above;
God it is who bears us on,
His the arm we lean upon.
He our ever‑present guide
Faithful is, whate'er betide;
Gladly then we journey on,
With His arm to lean upon.
From earth's fears and vain alarms
Safe in His encircling arms,
He will keep us all the way,
God, our refuge, strength and stay.
Readings from the Bible.
Deuteronomy 33:27 (to :)
The eternal God is thy
refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:
Psalms 24:1‑6 (to 1st .),7‑10
(to 1st .)
The earth is the Lord's, and
the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and
established it upon the floods. Who
shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy
place? He that hath clean hands, and a
pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn
deceitfully. He shall receive the
blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him,
that seek thy face, O Jacob.
Lift up your heads, O ye
gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall
come in. Who is this King of glory? The
Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift
them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.
Psalms 41:1‑3,10‑13 O
Blessed is he that
considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him
alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him
unto the will of his enemies. The Lord
will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in
his sickness.
O Lord, be merciful unto me, and raise me up,
that I may requite them. By this I know
that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine
integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from
everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.
Psalms 90:1,2,4,16,17
Lord, thou hast been our
dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the
earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
For a thousand years in thy
sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
Let thy work appear unto thy
servants, and thy glory unto their children.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou
the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
Psalms 93:1‑5
The Lord reigneth, he is
clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath
girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established of old: thou art from
everlasting. The floods have lifted up,
O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their
waves. The Lord on high is mightier than
the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness
becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.
Psalms 100:1‑5
Make a joyful noise unto the
Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with
gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he
that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of
his pasture. Enter into his gates with
thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless
his name. For the Lord is good; his
mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Psalms 145:5‑13
I will speak of the glorious
honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy
terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy
great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion;
slow to anger, and of great mercy. The
Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and
thy saints shall bless thee. They shall
speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; To make known to the
sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and
thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
Isaiah 26:3,4
Thou wilt keep him in perfect
peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the
Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
Jeremiah 31:3
The Lord hath appeared of old
unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore
with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
22:23‑11
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.
Justice requires reformation of the
sinner. Mercy cancels the debt only when
justice approves. Revenge is
inadmissible. Wrath which is only
appeased is not destroyed, but partially indulged. Wisdom and Love may require many sacrifices
of self to save us from sin. One
sacrifice, however great, is insufficient to pay the debt of sin. The atonement requires constant self‑immolation
on the sinner's part. That God's wrath
should be vented upon His beloved Son, is divinely unnatural. Such a theory is man‑made. The atonement is a hard problem in theology,
but its scientific explanation is, that suffering is an error of sinful sense
which Truth destroys, and that eventually both sin and suffering will fall at
the feet of everlasting Love.
44:28‑10
His disciples believed Jesus to be dead while
he was hidden in the sepulchre, whereas he was alive, demonstrating within the
narrow tomb the power of Spirit to overrule mortal, material sense. There were
rock‑ribbed walls in the way, and a great stone must be rolled from the cave's
mouth; but Jesus vanquished every material obstacle, overcame every law of
matter, and stepped forth from his gloomy resting‑place, crowned with the glory
of a sublime success, an everlasting victory.
Our Master fully and finally demonstrated
divine Science in his victory over death and the grave. Jesus' deed was for the enlightenment of men
and for the salvation of the whole world from sin, sickness, and death.
99:23
The calm, strong currents of true
spirituality, the manifestations of which are health, purity, and self‑immolation,
must deepen human experience, until the beliefs of material existence are seen
to be a bald imposition, and sin, disease, and death give everlasting place to
the scientific demonstration of divine Spirit and to God's spiritual, perfect
man.
216:11
The understanding that the Ego is Mind, and
that there is but one Mind or intelligence, begins at once to destroy the
errors of mortal sense and to supply the truth of immortal sense. This understanding makes the body harmonious;
it makes the nerves, bones, brain, etc., servants, instead of masters. If man is governed by the law of divine Mind,
his body is in submission to everlasting Life and Truth and Love. The great mistake of mortals is to suppose
that man, God's image and likeness, is both matter and Spirit, both good and
evil.
256:13
The everlasting I AM is not bounded nor
compressed within the narrow limits of physical humanity, nor can He be
understood aright through mortal concepts.
The precise form of God must be of small importance in comparison with
the sublime question, What is infinite Mind or divine Love?
289:31‑12
Man is not the offspring of flesh, but of
Spirit,‑‑of Life, not of matter. Because
Life is God, Life must be eternal, self‑existent. Life is the everlasting I AM, the Being who
was and is and shall be, whom nothing can erase.
If the Principle, rule, and demonstration of
man's being are not in the least understood before what is termed death
overtakes mortals, they will rise no higher spiritually in the scale of
existence on account of that single experience, but will remain as material as
before the transition, still seeking happiness through a material, instead of
through a spiritual sense of life, and from selfish and inferior motives. That Life or Mind is finite and physical or
is manifested through brain and nerves, is false.
390:4
We cannot deny that Life is self‑sustained,
and we should never deny the everlasting harmony of Soul, simply because, to
the mortal senses, there is seeming discord.
It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces
apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony. Truth will at length compel us all to
exchange the pleasures and pains of sense for the joys of Soul.
410:4‑21
"This is life eternal," says Jesus,‑‑is, not shall be; and then he defines everlasting life as a present
knowledge of his Father and of himself,‑‑the knowledge of Love, Truth, and
Life. "This is life eternal, that
they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast
sent." The Scriptures say,
"Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," showing that
Truth is the actual life of man; but mankind objects to making this teaching
practical.
Every trial of our faith in God makes us
stronger. The more difficult seems the
material condition to be overcome by Spirit, the stronger should be our faith
and the purer our love. The Apostle John
says: "There is no fear in Love, but perfect Love casteth out fear. . . .
He that feareth is not made perfect in Love." Here is a definite and inspired proclamation
of Christian Science.
428:15‑29
We should consecrate existence, not "to
the unknown God" whom we "ignorantly worship," but to the eternal
builder, the everlasting Father, to the Life which mortal sense cannot impair
nor mortal belief destroy. We must
realize the ability of mental might to offset human misconceptions and to
replace them with the life which is spiritual, not material.
The great spiritual fact must be brought out
that man is, not shall be, perfect and immortal.
We must hold forever the consciousness of existence, and sooner or
later, through Christ and Christian Science, we must master sin and death. The evidence of man's immortality will become
more apparent, as material beliefs are given up and the immortal facts of being
are admitted.
568:24
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.
594:19
SPIRIT.
Divine substance; Mind; divine Principle; all that is good; God; that
only which is perfect, everlasting, omnipresent, omnipotent, infinite.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 247
Thomas H. Gill*
O walk with God along the road,
Your strength He will renew;
Wait on the everlasting God,
And He will walk with you.
Ye shall not to your daily task
Without your God repair,
But on your work His blessing ask
And prove His glory there.
Ye shall not faint, ye shall not fail;
In Spirit ye are strong;
Each task divine ye still shall hail,
And blend it with a song.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 374
John Randall Dunn
We thank Thee and we bless Thee,
O Father of us all,
That e'en before we ask Thee
Thou hear'st Thy children's call.
We praise Thee for Thy goodness
And tender, constant care,
We thank Thee, Father‑Mother,
That Thou hast heard our prayer.
We thank Thee and we bless Thee,
O Lord of all above,
That now Thy children know Thee
As everlasting Love.
And Love is not the author
Of discord, pain and fear;
O Love divine, we thank Thee
That good alone is here.
We thank Thee, Father‑Mother,
For blessings, light and grace
Which bid mankind to waken
And see Thee face to face.
We thank Thee, when in anguish
We turn from sense to Soul,
That we may hear Thee calling:
Rejoice, for thou art whole.
