LESSON OF DECEMBER 15, 2011
By Hope Anderson
“Thy God Reigneth!”
As I was lying in bed very early on a recent morning the words from Isaiah 52:7 came to my consciousness. I had closed a previous Lesson with this quotation which has always been an especially treasured one to me.
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good
tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion,
Thy God reigneth!”
I looked up James Moffett’s translation of the verse and found this lovely message:
“Look! ‘tis the feet of a herald, hastening over the hills,
with good news, with tidings of relief, calling aloud to Sion,
‘Your God reigns!’”
And Moffett, in his Bible, continues his joyous tidings with the next two verses:
“All your sentinels are shouting, in a triumph-song, for they
see the Eternal face to face as he returns to Sion. Break into a
song of praise, O ruins of Jerusalem; the eternal has consoled
his people, he has freed Jerusalem.”
The much sought-after “Consolation” is attained when the good tidings are spread abroad that “Thy God reigneth!” What greater joy can each of us realize for one another and the whole world than that God is the Only Power, together with Jesus’ promise that “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free”! This beautiful news not only saves, but brings to each one the “peace that passeth understanding.” It goes ahead of us to prepare the way when we are carrying its message.
“The preparations of the heart inman, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord” (Proverbs 16:1).
In my morning meditation the announcement that “Thy God reigneth” was also accompanied by the following verse from Revelation 12:10. Notice that the voice that spoke to John was a “loud” voice, possibly calling his attention to the importance of the message as happening right “Now”:
“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is
come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God,
and the power of his Christ.”
“Zion,” or ‘Sion,” is sometimes used figuratively as the Holy City, the New Jerusalem – Love’s abode where holy thoughts and ideals abide; thereby symbolizing spiritual consciousness. Mrs. Eddy’s definition of Zion is “Spiritual foundation and super-
structure; inspiration; spiritual strength.”
“Ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable
company of angels, to the general assembly and church
of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God
the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect…”
(Hebrews 12:22, 23)
“Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is
mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great
King” (Psalm 48:2).
Robert Schuller describes the physical location of the city of Jerusalem as being above the surrounding countryside of Judea on an oval-shaped hill. Steep valleys on three sides of the city magnify its impenetrable position. To the east is the Mount of Olives and the Kidron Valley, and to the south and west are the Hinnom and Tyropean Valleys. Only from the north is the city vulnerable.
In biblical times, this easy northern access was the main approach route to Jerusalem. Even today it remains a major travel route. However, it also posed a real threat to the people of the city. For only from the north could an enemy attack the city successfully.
It was at Jerusalem’s unprotected point that the mighty temple was built with its high walls and impregnable fortress. The temple was all that stood between the people of the city and the approaching armies.
The psalmist may have often sat on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem with her temple, “Mount Zion,” reflecting on her geographical position and observing the strong northern walls of the temple which protected the city. He knew how dependent Jerusalem was on God’s protection from her potential problems and enemies. His psalm of praise so appropriately reflects this prayer: “The joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.”
* * * * * * * *
The following paragraphs written by Lillian DeWaters give us instruction as to the Way we are to follow in order to experience the Finished Kingdom” – the New Jerusalem:
“Recognize the present ISNESS! Face upward and away from the personal self! Plant the feet in the Finished Kingdom! Manifest right thoughts, right things, right conditions.
“Let our song be: I have (am) the sight of God! I have (am) the hearing of God! I have (am) the feeling of God! I have (am) the harmony of God! I have (am) the health of God! I have the ALL of God!
“The Red Sea opened up for Moses; the lions closed their mouths for Daniel; the iron gates swung apart for Peter; the storms ceased for Paul; the boiling oil had no harmful chemicals for John. We look upon lions and see lambs! We look upon Red Seas and see dry land! We look upon apparent sickness and see health! We look upon the apparent sinner and see the sinless! We look upon apparent failure and see victory! We look upon apparent death and see life! We have the vision of him who proclaimed, “All power in heaven and earth is given unto me!” (The Finished Kingdom).
I remember reading the advice a writer in a Christian Science Sentinel gave to her readers: “Go to Genesis 1! Stay in Genesis 1!” That would be the trumpet call to us that “Thy God reigneth!” since the beauty of Genesis 1 is that “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” and “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”
Joel Goldsmith writes in his book, Altitude of Prayer, that “prayer is a way of life, living through God so that God’s way may be fulfilled in us… And what is that prayer? Trusting Omniscience, resting in Omnipotence, dwelling in Omnipresence, and always listening” (page 144, 145 – my emphasis). That is truly being a dweller in the first chapter of Genesis where only God reigns!
* * * * * *
An E-mail came to me recently from Allen White alerting us to the fact that a group of weather experts meeting in Uganda have warned all world leaders to “get ready for more dangerous and unprecedented weather extremes.” In other words, they were telling us to expect and prepare for disaster, the reason being “global warming.” Joel Goldsmith tells us that “weather is a phenomenon of the mind of man, and experiments have proved that it can be changed when it becomes rambunctious and destructive.”
“The Bottom Line About Weather,” writes Allen White, is the following:
“Since all activity is God being active, weather can never
be destructive or interruptive in any way.”
He tells us to take this one step further. “Weather is never interruptive or destructive in any way because God never interrupts or destroys Itself. This is the truth Christ Jesus knew when he stood at the helm of the boat and cried ‘Peace be still’ to the boisterous winds.”
Allen is asking all of us to join with him on Mondays (any time of one’s choosing) for a brief contemplation of the truth, rather than expecting future disaster:
“All activity, including weather, is LOVE IN ACTION revealing
only harmony, peace, and oneness.”
Then follow it by a period of silence (no particular length of time), keeping the main idea intact. He suggests that we continue this Monday Night Special until the end of January 2012.
I had highlighted a section of a 1975 Letter of Joel’s in which he writes that we must realize that “God must be the basic law behind all nature – or where does this law of nature come from? God must permeate the entire universe, and as we see and understand this, then whatever destructive forces there are will disappear.”
Today I read a testimony of healing in the book, The Gentle Art of Blessing, which came about through a man’s blessing others all day long. This is another way of declaring Genesis 1 – seeing God as All-in-all! The man recounts how it had transformed his life:
“From a big hell to a very big heaven… I was a very fat person with very bad eyesight and had to be interned at a mental hospital many times because of psychiatric disorders. Fifteen years ago, when I was to get my driver’s license, it was found I had very bad eyesight, so I contacted a Christian Science practitioner in my hometown. I asked her what I should do. She told me not to accept glasses because eyesight is spiritual, that divine Love always keeps my sight in full harmony, and that I really saw with God’s eyes [see page 2, paragraph 9, of this Lesson] . She told me to be kind to all, and that she would pray for me.
“So I started to bless people. Whenever I met someone I would think, ‘God bless you.’ I did this from morning till evening. [“How beautiful are those feet!”] When I had done this for about three months, for a short while I suddenly could read the names of ships on the ocean, which I couldn’t do before. This gave me enormous inspiration. I went on blessing people even more than before, and started to help ladies across the street, whether they wanted it or not. Fourteen days later I was sitting at home reading the Christian Science textbook when suddenly a very strong light filled my mind. It lasted for ten minutes, then disappeared. Two months later, this light began to flow more and more frequently, and now I am sure that nothing can stop it.
“I became a very harmonious person, and my obesity disappeared. My eyesight has been restored, and the mental illness has disappeared. Sometimes I feel that I am the happiest person in the world. I am sure this spiritual light will sometime fill everyone in the world with love and holiness so that we can all come out from matter and darkness and reach our spiritual minds… my gratitude is boundless.”
This man was living in the New Jerusalem, about which Joel gives us his spiritual interpretation in the last chapter of The Infinite Way:
“…Long have I sought thee, O Jerusalem, but only now have my pilgrim feet
touched the soil of heaven. The waste places are no more. Fertile lands are
before me, the like of which I have never dreamed. Oh, truly ‘There shall be no
night there.’ The glory of it shines as the noonday sun…
“I will keep silence before Thee. My Soul and my Spirit and my silence shall
be Thy dwelling place. Thy Spirit shall fill my meditation, and it shall make me
and preserve me whole. O Thou Tender One and True – I am home in Thee.”
Hope
©Copyright Hope Anderson 2012
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