Responsive Reading: II Kings 6 : 15-17 • Psalm 68 : 17 • Psalm 40 : 4, 5<

15.     And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

16.     And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

17.     And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

17.     The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.

4.     Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust.

5.     Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

1. Psalm 121 : 1, 2, 3 (he that), 7

1     I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

2     My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

3     …he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

7     The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

2. Exodus 23 : 20, 25

20     Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

25     And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.

3. Mark 5 : 25, 26 (had suffered)-34

25     And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,

26     …had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,

27     When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.

28     For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.

29     And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

30     And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?

31     And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

32     And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.

33     But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.

34     And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

4. Isaiah 63 : 7, 9 (the angel), 16 (O), 19 (to :)

7     I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.

9     …the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

16     …O Lord, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.

19     We are thine:

5. Proverbs 3 : 1-3 (to 1st :), 5, 6

1     My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

2     For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

3     Let not mercy and truth forsake thee:

5     Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6     In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

6. Jeremiah: 29 : 11-14 (to 2nd ,

11     For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

12     Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

13     And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

14     And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity,

7. Acts 12 : 1, 3 (he proceeded) (to 1st .), 4-11

1     Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.

3     …he proceeded further to take Peter also.

4     And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

5     Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.

6     And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.

7     And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.

8     And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.

9     And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.

10     When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.

11     And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.

8. Psalm 91 : 9-16

9     Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

10     There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

11     For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

12     They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

13     Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

14     Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

15     He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

16     With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

1. 587 : 5-8

God. The great I am; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence.

2. 487 : 27-1

The understanding that Life is God, Spirit, lengthens our days by strengthening our trust in the deathless reality of Life, its almightiness and immortality.

This faith relies upon an understood Principle. This Principle makes whole the diseased, and brings out the enduring and harmonious phases of things.

3. 23 : 17-20

Faith, advanced to spiritual understanding, is the evidence gained from Spirit, which rebukes sin of every kind and establishes the claims of God.

4. 512 : 8-16

Spirit is symbolized by strength, presence, and power, and also by holy thoughts, winged with Love. These angels of His presence, which have the holiest charge, abound in the spiritual atmosphere of Mind, and consequently reproduce their own characteristics. Their individual forms we know not, but we do know that their natures are allied to God's nature; and spiritual blessings, thus typified, are the externalized, yet subjective, states of faith and spiritual understanding.

5. 581 : 4-7

Angels. God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality.

6. 299 : 7-17

My angels are exalted thoughts, appearing at the door of some sepulchre, in which human belief has buried its fondest earthly hopes. With white fingers they point upward to a new and glorified trust, to higher ideals of life and its joys. Angels are God's representatives. These upward-soaring beings never lead towards self, sin, or materiality, but guide to the divine Principle of all good, whither every real individuality, image, or likeness of God, gathers. By giving earnest heed to these spiritual guides they tarry with us, and we entertain "angels unawares."

7. 174 : 9-14

The footsteps of thought, rising above material standpoints, are slow, and portend a long night to the traveller; but the angels of His presence — the spiritual intuitions that tell us when "the night is far spent, the day is at hand" — are our guardians in the gloom.

8. 203 : 17-18

We are prone to believe either in more than one Supreme Ruler or in some power less than God.

9. 204 : 3-11, 18-19

All forms of error support the false conclusions that there is more than one Life; that material history is as real and living as spiritual history; that mortal error is as conclusively mental as immortal Truth; and that there are two separate, antagonistic entities and beings, two powers, — namely, Spirit and matter, — resulting in a third person (mortal man) who carries out the delusions of sin, sickness, and death.

Such theories are evidently erroneous. They can never stand the test of Science.

10. 192 : 19-26

In Science, you can have no power opposed to God, and the physical senses must give up their false testimony. Your influence for good depends upon the weight you throw into the right scale. The good you do and embody gives you the only power obtainable. Evil is not power. It is a mockery of strength, which erelong betrays its weakness and falls, never to rise.

11. 183 : 21-25

Divine Mind rightly demands man's entire obedience, affection, and strength. No reservation is made for any lesser loyalty. Obedience to Truth gives man power and strength. Submission to error superinduces loss of power.

12. 495 : 14-20

When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea. Allow nothing but His likeness to abide in your thought. Let neither fear nor doubt overshadow your clear sense and calm trust, that the recognition of life harmonious — as Life eternally is — can destroy any painful sense of, or belief in, that which Life is not.

13. 130 : 26-2

If thought is startled at the strong claim of Science for the supremacy of God, or Truth, and doubts the supremacy of good, ought we not, contrariwise, to be astounded at the vigorous claims of evil and doubt them, and no longer think it natural to love sin and unnatural to forsake it, — no longer imagine evil to be ever-present and good absent? Truth should not seem so surprising and unnatural as error, and error should not seem so real as truth.

14. 548 : 13-17

Every agony of mortal error helps error to destroy error, and so aids the apprehension of immortal Truth. This is the new birth going on hourly, by which men may entertain angels, the true ideas of God, the spiritual sense of being.

15. 567 : 3-6, 7-8

These angels deliver us from the depths. Truth and Love come nearer in the hour of woe, when strong faith or spiritual strength wrestles and prevails through the understanding of God. … To infinite, ever-present Love, all is Love, and there is no error, no sin, sickness, nor death.

16. 224 : 29-31 (to 2nd .)

The power of God brings deliverance to the captive. No power can withstand divine Love.

17. 372 : 14-17

When man demonstrates Christian Science absolutely, he will be perfect. He can neither sin, suffer, be subject to matter, nor disobey the law of God. Therefore he will be as the angels in heaven.