Editorial September 16, 1916 Issue

"I will greatly rejoice"

Annie M. Knott

It is deeply interesting to read the many admonitions as to rejoicing found in the Bible, and Christian Science is daily bringing these precious gems to light so that we may make them our own. In the sixty-first chapter of Isaiah we read, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord," and the reason for the rejoicing follows: "He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation." This is the essential point, although the whole passage tells in glowing terms of an outpouring of spiritual blessings typified by precious jewels and also the upspringing of flowers and fruitage. The student of Christian Science knows that all good things spring up in abundance from the soil of true spirituality, that the prophet's words will come true, when "God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations."

Our beloved Leader presents a profound reason for joy when she says (No and Yes, p. 8), "We can rejoice that every germ of goodness will at last struggle into freedom and greatness, and every sin will so punish itself that it will bow down to the commandments of Christ,—Truth and Love." In the prophecy of Habakkuk we find a passage closely related to the one in Isaiah already quoted, in which we are told that although neither vine nor fig tree yield their fruit, and although the flocks and herds perish from the stalls, yet the true cause for rejoicing remains. The passage reads, "I will joy in the God of my salvation;" and it further declares, "He will make my feet like hinds' feet," a promise which may well gladden those who have in vain sought healing from a material source.

The Christian Scientist is healed by divine Truth, which comes to him in full tide, sweeping before it the evidences of disease and the fear of it as well. This alone may indeed cause one to rejoice greatly, but there is something in store for him richer and rarer than physical healing, and in Scripture language it is called "knowledge of salvation." It was the father of John the Baptist who foretold the coming of this divinely scientific knowledge, which he said should "give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death." On page 593 of Science and Health salvation is thus defined: "Life, Truth, and Love understood and demonstrated as supreme over all; sin, sickness, and death destroyed." Would not every one who gained a knowledge of salvation such as this rejoice greatly!

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