Refuge ANNIE M. KNOTT, CSD          So long as the dream of mortal existence lasts we shall need to have a place of refuge from the numerous ills which beset humanity, all of these being but varied manifestations of the belief in a life separate from God, the one and only Life. Apart from Christian Science where can we find any who believe that life without any element of evil is possible? Yet this is plainly taught in the Bible and is insistently maintained in Christian Science. In the ninety-first psalm the one who has made God his refuge is given this assurance: "There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." In Exodus we read that when the plagues prevailed in Egypt the children of Israel were entirely free from them, and we may be sure that their safety was not due to better dwellings or improved sanitary conditions, but rather to their trust in the one God who had been so marvelously revealed to Moses as the ever living God.          On page 83 of Science and Health Mrs. Eddy says, "Mortals must find refuge in Truth in order to escape the error of these latter days." At the present time no Christian Scientist would question this statement, and happily for them they know where the place of refuge is to be found. If we turn again to the ninety-first psalm we find this as its opening statement: "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Then comes the response from the human side to this declaration of Truth, "I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." As we read on through this psalm, which is so dear to all students of Christian Science, we find that this divinely provided refuge shuts out error of every sort so that there need be no fear of pestilence or destruction to those who rely entirely upon God, and that even the aggressive and subtle forms of error typified by the lion and the adder are rendered powerless to him who has set his love upon divine Love and whose deliverance is therefore sure.          It is possible that some may be disposed to murmur if they are tested as to their absolute reliance upon divine Truth and spiritual law. They may be disposed to complain if the ills which are so prevalent on the plane of mortal belief in any wise assail them, but if such experiences come to any of us we need but remember that as mortals we have not yet risen above all that is unlike God, and that the opportunity has but come to us to make our position more sure by getting rid of some of the errors which may be lurking in our consciousness. Doubt and fear are certainly not qualities of the divine Mind and have no place in the thought of man as God's idea. If we then allow these subtle foes to remain unquestioned in consciousness we need not be surprised if we shall have a struggle in order to get rid of them, and at the same time to rise above possibly some sense of physical suffering such as that which prevails on the part of those who rely upon material means for healing. The ninety-first psalm does not say that we shall not be tested to the utmost, but the promise to him who calls upon God for aid is this: "I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation."          It may be said that in every attack of illness the shadow of death lurks in the background, but in the twenty-third psalm we are told that even though we walk through "the valley of the shadow of death," we need fear no evil. In commenting upon this an old Puritan has this to say: "The shadow of a dog can never bite, and the shadow of a sword can never kill; so the shadow of death can never take away life." This brings us to the beautiful promise of long life just read, which translated into the words of the great Teacher means eternal life. As Christian Scientists we are only at the beginning of our demonstration, and it is no less than this one thing which the Master demanded of all his followers, namely, that they shall lay hold upon eternal life. In the forty-seventh chapter of Genesis we read that when Jacob went down into Egypt to be reunited to his beloved son Joseph, he was taken into the throne room of that ancient autocracy and was presented to Pharaoh. The king asked Jacob his age, and in reply the patriarch said that he was a hundred and thirty years old, yet this was his characterization of his earthly life as mere mortal experience: "Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage." The only thing which really counted in his earthly pilgrimage, and it is the only thing which ever counts in ours, is the spiritual uplifting which beholds God face to face, realizes the divine ever presence and protection, and from this vision strives continually, even though it be with some stumblings, to walk with God.          In reaching out for the long life promised in the Scriptures, we must know that every day furnishes us with many opportunities to rise above the false mortal sense of life and of all things. If we linger in the darkness of material belief we shall tacitly echo the sorrowful words of the ninetieth psalm, "All our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told." The sad thing is that so many remain in this state of mental darkness, not knowing that complete deliverance is ever at hand to those who will seek refuge, not in medical or ecclesiastical theories, but in the divine Science which reveals to every sincere seeker the secret place of the Most High. When we have even a glimpse of the salvation promised in this wonderful psalm we shall, if wise, learn the great importance of giving thanks continually in the depths of our own consciousness for simply knowing the truth and realizing in ever increasing measure Love's all-protecting power. We can help ourselves and others by expressing morning, noon, and night our realization of God's loving-kindness and faithfulness toward us. Thus, we shall abide in our place of refuge and give thanks that we have found it.   "Refuge" by Annie M. Knott, CSD Christian Science Sentinel, October 19, 1918

 

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