Theme: Watch
Hymn 183
Horatius Bonar – Adapted
Make haste, O man, to do
Whatever must be done;
Thou hast no time to lose in sloth,
When all to Truth must come.
The useful and the great,
The thing that never dies,
The silent toil that is not lost,‑‑
Set these before thine eyes.
Up, face the task and work;
Fling ease and self away;
This is no time for thee to sleep;
Up, watch, and work, and pray.
Readings from the Bible.
Psalms 130:1‑8
Out of the depths have I
cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my
voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O
Lord, who shall stand? But there is
forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and
in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth
for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they
that watch for the morning. Let Israel
hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous
redemption. And he shall redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
Jeremiah 31:27,28
#Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the
seed of man, and with the seed of beast.
And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to
pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict;
so will I watch over them to build, and to plant, saith the Lord.
Habakkuk 2:1‑3
I will stand upon my watch,
and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and
what I shall answer when I am reproved.
And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain
upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall
speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come,
it will not tarry.
Matthew 26:30 when,36‑41
when they had sung an hymn, they went out into
the mount of Olives.
#Then cometh Jesus with them
unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here,
while I go and pray yonder. And he took
with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very
heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul
is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his
face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass
from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth
them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one
hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not
into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Mark 13:31‑37
Heaven and earth shall pass
away: but my words shall not pass away. #But of that day and that hour knoweth
no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the
Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray:
for ye know not when the time is. For
the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave
authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter
to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye
know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at
the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you
sleeping. And what I say unto you I say
unto all, Watch.
Luke 12:27‑32,34‑40 where
Consider the lilies how they
grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all
his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to
morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little
faith? And seek not ye what ye shall
eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the
world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these
things. #But rather seek ye the kingdom
of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your
Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
where your treasure is, there will your heart
be also. Let your loins be girded about,
and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their
lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh,
they may open unto him immediately.
Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find
watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to
sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or
come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the
house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not
have suffered his house to be broken through.
Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye
think not.
Luke 21:36
Watch ye therefore, and pray
always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall
come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
I Corinthians 16:13
Watch ye, stand fast in the
faith, quit you like men, be strong.
Colossians 4:2
Continue in prayer, and watch
in the same with thanksgiving;
I Thessalonians 5:5‑9
Ye are all the children of
light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of
darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as
do others; but let us watch and be sober.
For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are
drunken in the night. But let us, who
are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for
an helmet, the hope of salvation. For
God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus
Christ,
Readings from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
4:12‑26
The habitual struggle to be always good is
unceasing prayer. Its motives are made
manifest in the blessings they bring,‑‑blessings which, even if not
acknowledged in audible words, attest our worthiness to be partakers of
Love.
Simply asking that we may love God will never
make us love Him; but the longing to be better and holier, expressed in daily
watchfulness and in striving to assimilate more of the divine character, will
mould and fashion us anew, until we awake in His likeness. We reach the Science of Christianity through
demonstration of the divine nature; but in this wicked world goodness will
"be evil spoken of," and patience must bring experience.
15:14‑30
In order to pray aright, we must enter into
the closet and shut the door. We must
close the lips and silence the material senses.
In the quiet sanctuary of earnest longings, we must deny sin and plead
God's allness. We must resolve to take
up the cross, and go forth with honest hearts to work and watch for wisdom,
Truth, and Love. We must "pray
without ceasing." Such prayer is
answered, in so far as we put our desires into practice. The Master's injunction is, that we pray in
secret and let our lives attest our sincerity.
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.
47:31
During his night of gloom and glory in the
garden, Jesus realized the utter error of a belief in any possible material
intelligence. The pangs of neglect and
the staves of bigoted ignorance smote him sorely. His students slept. He said unto them: "Could ye not watch
with me one hour?" Could they not
watch with him who, waiting and struggling in voiceless agony, held
uncomplaining guard over a world? There
was no response to that human yearning, and so Jesus turned forever away from
earth to heaven, from sense to Soul.
323:28‑18
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."
Unless the harmony and immortality of man are
becoming more apparent, we are not gaining the true idea of God; and the body
will reflect what governs it, whether it be Truth or error, understanding or
belief, Spirit or matter. Therefore
"acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace." Be watchful, sober,
and vigilant. The way is straight and
narrow, which leads to the understanding that God is the only Life. It is a warfare with the flesh, in which we
must conquer sin, sickness, and death, either here or hereafter,‑‑certainly
before we can reach the goal of Spirit, or life in God.
366:30‑29
If we would open their prison doors for the
sick, we must first learn to bind up the broken‑hearted. If we would heal by the Spirit, we must not
hide the talent of spiritual healing under the napkin of its form, nor bury the
morale of Christian Science in the
grave‑clothes of its letter. The tender
word and Christian encouragement of an invalid, pitiful patience with his fears
and the removal of them, are better than hecatombs of gushing theories,
stereotyped borrowed speeches, and the doling of arguments, which are but so
many parodies on legitimate Christian Science, aflame with divine Love.
This is what is meant by seeking Truth,
Christ, not "for the loaves and fishes," nor, like the Pharisee, with
the arrogance of rank and display of scholarship, but like Mary Magdalene, from
the summit of devout consecration, with the oil of gladness and the perfume of gratitude, with tears of repentance and
with those hairs all numbered by the Father.
A Christian Scientist occupies the place at
this period of which Jesus spoke to his disciples, when he said: "Ye are
the salt of the earth." "Ye
are the light of the world. A city that
is set on an hill cannot be hid."
Let us watch, work, and pray that this salt lose not its saltness, and
that this light be not hid, but radiate and glow into noontide glory.
The infinite Truth of the Christ‑cure has
come to this age through a "still, small voice," through silent
utterances and divine anointing which quicken and increase the beneficial
effects of Christianity. I long to see
the consummation of my hope, namely, the student's higher attainments in this
line of light.
411:20‑9
The procuring cause and foundation of all
sickness is fear, ignorance, or sin.
Disease is always induced by a false sense mentally entertained, not
destroyed. Disease is an image of
thought externalized. The mental state
is called a material state. Whatever is cherished in mortal mind as the
physical condition is imaged forth on the body.
Always begin your treatment by allaying the
fear of patients. Silently reassure them
as to their exemption from disease and danger.
Watch the result of this simple rule of Christian Science, and you will
find that it alleviates the symptoms of every disease. If you succeed in wholly
removing the fear, your patient is healed. The great fact that God lovingly
governs all, never punishing aught but sin, is your standpoint, from which to
advance and destroy the human fear of sickness.
Mentally and silently plead the case scientifically for Truth. You may vary the arguments to meet the
peculiar or general symptoms of the case you treat, but be thoroughly persuaded
in your own mind concerning the truth which you think or speak, and you will be
the victor.
446:24
Resisting evil, you overcome it and prove its
nothingness. Not human platitudes, but
divine beatitudes, reflect the spiritual light and might which heal the sick. The exercise of will brings on a hypnotic
state, detrimental to health and integrity of thought. This must therefore be watched and guarded
against. Covering iniquity will prevent
prosperity and the ultimate triumph of any cause. Ignorance of the error to be eradicated
oftentimes subjects you to its abuse.
487:3
Life is deathless. Life is the origin and ultimate of man, never
attainable through death, but gained by walking in the pathway of Truth both
before and after that which is called death.
There is more Christianity in seeing and hearing spiritually than
materially. There is more Science in the
perpetual exercise of the Mind‑faculties than in their loss. Lost they cannot be, while Mind remains. The apprehension of this gave sight to the
blind and hearing to the deaf centuries ago, and it will repeat the
wonder.
497:24 we
we solemnly promise to watch,
and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto
others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and
pure.
563:1‑22
Human sense may well marvel at discord,
while, to a diviner sense, harmony is the real and discord the unreal. We may well be astonished at sin, sickness,
and death. We may well be perplexed at
human fear; and still more astounded at hatred, which lifts its hydra head,
showing its horns in the many inventions of evil. But why should we stand aghast at
nothingness? The great red dragon
symbolizes a lie,‑‑the belief that substance, life, and intelligence can be
material. This dragon stands for the sum
total of human error. The ten horns of
the dragon typify the belief that matter has power of its own, and that by
means of an evil mind in matter the Ten Commandments can be broken.
The Revelator lifts the veil from this
embodiment of all evil, and beholds its awful character; but he also sees the
nothingness of evil and the allness of God.
The Revelator sees that old serpent, whose name is devil or evil,
holding untiring watch, that he may bite the heel of truth and seemingly impede
the offspring of the spiritual idea, which is prolific in health, holiness, and
immortality.
Silent prayer followed by the audible repetition of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hymn 207
Mother's Evening Prayer – With words by Mary
Baker Eddy
O gentle presence, peace and joy and power;
O Life divine, that owns each waiting hour,
Thou Love that
guards the nestling's faltering flight!
Keep Thou my
child on upward wing tonight.
Love is our
refuge; only with mine eye
Can I behold
the snare, the pit, the fall:
His habitation
high is here, and nigh,
His arm encircles
me, and mine, and all.
O make me glad
for every scalding tear,
For hope
deferred, ingratitude, disdain!
Wait, and love
more for every hate, and fear
No ill,‑‑since
God is good, and loss is gain.
Beneath the
shadow of His mighty wing;
In that sweet
secret of the narrow way,
Seeking and
finding, with the angels sing:
"Lo, I
am with you alway,"‑‑watch and pray.
No snare, no
fowler, pestilence or pain;
No night
drops down upon the troubled breast,
When heaven's
aftersmile earth's tear‑drops gain,
And mother
finds her home and heav'nly rest.
Sharing of experiences, testimonies and remarks by members of the congregation.
Hymn 283
From the German
of Joachim Neander
Praise we the
Lord, for His mercy endureth forever.
Let us extol
Him with joyous and loving endeavor;
Come let
us sing,
Praising
our God and our King,
Should we be
silent? Ah, never.
Praise we the
Lord, who our footsteps still holdeth
from sliding;
Daily He
campeth about us, protecting and guiding;
E'en
while we sleep
Watch
doth He tenderly keep;
Ever new
mercies providing.
Praise we the
Lord with a joyous and glad adoration;
Lo, unto them
that believe there is no condemnation;
Now will
we raise
Songs of
thanksgiving and praise,
Christ is
become our salvation.
