Theme: Help
Hymn 8
Henry Francis Lyte
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's
power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death's sting? where, grave, thy
victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Readings from the Bible.
Psalms 3:1,2 (to 1st .),3,4
(to 1st .),5‑8 (to 1st .)
Lord, how are they increased
that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is
no help for him in God.
But thou, O Lord, art a
shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he
heard me out of his holy hill.
I laid me down and slept; I
awaked; for the Lord sustained me. I
will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against
me round about. Arise, O Lord; save me,
O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast
broken the teeth of the ungodly.
Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people.
Psalms 27:1‑9
The Lord is my light and my
salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom
shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even
mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and
fell. Though an host should encamp
against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this
will I be confident.
One thing have I
desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of
the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to
inquire in his temple. For in the time
of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle
shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above
mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle
sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have
mercy also upon me, and answer me. When
thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I
seek. Hide not thy face far from me; put
not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither
forsake me, O God of my salvation.
Psalms 33:1‑14,20‑22
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. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen
to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever,
the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord: and the people whom he hath
chosen for his own inheritance. The Lord
looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh
upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
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 46:1‑3 (to 1st .),4‑7
(to 1st .),8‑11 (to 1st .)
God is our refuge and
strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the
mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar
and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.
There is a river, the streams
whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of
the most High. God is in the midst of
her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved:
he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Come, behold the works of the
Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the
earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the
chariot in the fire. Be still, and know
that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the
earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the
God of Jacob is our refuge.
Psalms 119:173‑175
Let thine hand help me; for I
have chosen thy precepts. I have longed
for thy salvation, O Lord; and thy law is my delight. Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee;
and let thy judgments help me.
Psalms 121:1‑8
I will lift up mine eyes unto
the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he
that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade
upon thy right hand. The sun shall not
smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy
coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Isaiah 41:10‑14
#Fear thou not; for I am with
thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will
help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness. Behold, all they that
were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as
nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find
them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as
nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I
the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will
help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob,
and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the
Holy One of Israel.
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
12:22‑4
The common custom of praying for the recovery
of the sick finds help in blind belief, whereas help should come from the
enlightened understanding. Changes in
belief may go on indefinitely, but they are the merchandise of human thought
and not the outgrowth of divine Science.
Does Deity interpose in behalf of one
worshipper, and not help another who offers the same measure of prayer? If the sick recover because they pray or are
prayed for audibly, only petitioners (per
se or by proxy) should get well. In
divine Science, where prayers are mental, all
may avail themselves of God as "a very present help in trouble." Love
is impartial and universal in its adaptation and bestowals. It is the open fount which cries, "Ho,
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters."
23:21
In Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and English, faith and the words corresponding
thereto have these two definitions, trustfulness
and trustworthiness. One kind of faith trusts one's welfare to
others. Another kind of faith understands divine Love and how to work out one's
"own salvation, with fear and trembling." "Lord, I believe; help thou mine
unbelief!" expresses the helplessness of a blind faith; whereas the
injunction, "Believe . . . and thou shalt be saved!" demands self‑reliant
trustworthiness, which includes spiritual understanding and confides all to
God.
202:24
Our beliefs about a Supreme Being contradict
the practice growing out of them. Error
abounds where Truth should "much more abound." We admit that God has almighty power, is
"a very present help in trouble;" and yet we rely on a drug or
hypnotism to heal disease, as if senseless matter or erring mortal mind had
more power than omnipotent Spirit.
218:17
Why pray for the recovery of the sick, if you
are without faith in God's willingness and ability to heal them? If you do believe in God, why do you
substitute drugs for the Almighty's power, and employ means which lead only
into material ways of obtaining help, instead of turning in time of need to
God, divine Love, who is an ever‑present help?
351:8
The author became a member of the orthodox
Congregational Church in early years.
Later she learned that her own prayers failed to heal her as did the
prayers of her devout parents and the church; but when the spiritual sense of
the creed was discerned in the Science of Christianity, this spiritual sense
was a present help. It was the living, palpitating presence of
Christ, Truth, which healed the sick.
392:11‑3
The physical affirmation of disease should
always be met with the mental negation.
Whatever benefit is produced on the body, must be expressed mentally,
and thought should be held fast to this ideal.
If you believe in inflamed and weak nerves, you are liable to an attack
from that source. You will call it
neuralgia, but we call it a belief. If
you think that consumption is hereditary in your family, you are liable to the
development of that thought in the form of what is termed pulmonary disease,
unless Science shows you otherwise. If
you decide that climate or atmosphere is unhealthy, it will be so to you. Your decisions will master you, whichever direction
they take.
Reverse the case. Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish
realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously. When the condition is present which you say
induces disease, whether it be air, exercise, heredity, contagion, or accident,
then perform your office as porter and shut out these unhealthy thoughts and
fears. Exclude from mortal mind the
offending errors; then the body cannot suffer from them. The issues of pain or pleasure must come
through mind, and like a watchman forsaking his post, we admit the intruding
belief, forgetting that through divine help we can forbid this entrance.
444:7
If Christian Scientists ever fail to receive
aid from other Scientists,‑‑their brethren upon whom they may call,‑‑God will
still guide them into the right use of temporary and eternal means. Step by
step will those who trust Him find that "God is our refuge and strength, a
very present help in trouble."
458:11‑15 (to 1st .)
It is anything but scientifically Christian
to think of aiding the divine Principle of healing or of trying to sustain the
human body until the divine Mind is ready to take the case. Divinity is always ready.
492:7
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. We know
that a statement proved to be good must be correct. New thoughts are constantly obtaining the
floor. These two contradictory theories‑‑that
matter is something, or that all is Mind‑‑will dispute the ground, until one is
acknowledged to be the victor.
Discussing his campaign, General Grant said: "I propose to fight it
out on this line, if it takes all summer."
Science says: All is Mind and
Mind's idea. You must fight it out on
this line. Matter can afford you no
aid.
494:5‑24
Is it not a species of infidelity to believe
that so great a work as the Messiah's was done for himself or for God, who
needed no help from Jesus' example to preserve the eternal harmony? But mortals did need this help, and Jesus
pointed the way for them. Divine Love
always has met and always will meet every human need. It is not well to imagine that Jesus
demonstrated the divine power to heal only for a select number or for a limited
period of time, since to all mankind and in every hour, divine Love supplies
all good.
The miracle of grace is no miracle to
Love. Jesus demonstrated the inability
of corporeality, as well as the infinite ability of Spirit, thus helping erring
human sense to flee from its own convictions and seek safety in divine
Science. Reason, rightly directed,
serves to correct the errors of corporeal sense; but sin, sickness, and death
will seem real (even as the experiences of the sleeping dream seem real) until
the Science of man's eternal harmony breaks their illusion with the unbroken
reality of scientific being.
518:13
God gives the lesser idea of Himself for a
link to the greater, and in return, the higher always protects the lower. The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand
brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man
who seeth his brother's need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another's
good. Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality, and goodness,
which shine through all as the blossom shines through the bud. All the varied expressions of God reflect
health, holiness, immortality‑‑infinite Life, Truth, and Love.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 105
Charles Wesley
Help us to help each other, Lord,
Each other's cross to bear;
Let each his friendly aid afford,
And feel his brother's care.
Help us to build each other up,
Our little stock improve;
Increase our faith, confirm our hope,
And perfect us in love.
Up unto Thee, our living Head,
Let us in all things grow;
Till Thou hast made us free indeed,
And spotless here below.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation
Hymn 213
Isaac Watts*
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for time to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone,
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for time to come,
Thou art our guard while ages last,
And our eternal home.
