"Blessed are the pure in heart"

"Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?" the psalmist asks; and his reply is, "He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." The verse has a sound peculiarly familiar to us, and wonderfully like the words of Christ Jesus in that flawless gem, the sixth Beatitude, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." Every prophet, every spiritual seer, worthy to be called by the name, has recognized and sung the beauty of purity, has seen it as the great essential of consciousness which opens the door to the kingdom of heaven that God may be revealed.

Who is there even of the worldly who has not felt the influence of purity? Tales have been told of its influence in all generations, everywhere upon the earth, on the lives of sinful men and women. These have been arrested by its sweetness, its gentleness, its fearlessness, qualities which always accompany purity; and oftentimes the divine power which it wields has compelled them away in disgust from the swine-troughs of material sense to seek the life-giving atmosphere which can be breathed by the spiritualized consciousness alone. But one does not need to be a reprobate to feel the indescribable touch of purity. Indeed, it not infrequently happens that sensualism will so blunt the finer nature that the sinner may seem quite irresponsive to the influence of purity. Be that as it may, the fact remains that to those striving after the good and the pure an atmosphere of purity is readily recognized and esteemed as one of the sweetest of blessings. And not only is purity esteemed for its own intrinsic worth; it is valued because it is the atmosphere in which the highest and holiest work can be done.

Now, the greatest demand is made upon the Christian Scientist for purity,—for purity in motive, in word, and in deed. It is an absolute essential to spiritual growth. Without it God, divine Principle, cannot be discerned and known; and if Principle be not understood, how can one hope to heal sickness or destroy sin? The healing of the false belief of sickness is possible exactly as the unreality of matter or evil is realized, through the knowledge of Spirit's allness. But is not this only another way of saying that healing is proportionate to one's purity? Just as thought rises above material sensuousness are we able to help those dwelling, in belief, in the illusions of the material senses. On the other hand, thought that is impure is as dangerous as the dagger of the assassin,—even more so, for it lurks unseen.

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Resolutions
December 2, 1922
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