Article June 11, 1927 Issue

Abiding Protection

WALTER LINCOLN COLBY

Whether it is David or some other inspired writer to whom we are indebted for the wonderful illustration of God's abiding protection portrayed in the ninety-first psalm, certainly no declaration in the Bible more clearly sets forth the loving care of "the Almighty" for His own. But this protection involves an obligation: only those who dwell in the presence of the protector are promised this shelter. We can imagine with what force this thought came to the God-fearing shepherd, watching his sheep at the base of a mountain, as he observed, perhaps, a mother eagle sheltering her little ones on a projecting rocky shelf, far up the mountain side, secure from the "snare of the fowler" or from the hunter's arrow.

Two remarkable sentences in religious literature show very clearly the necessity for absolute dependence upon the omnipotent. One is the first verse of the ninety-first psalm, and the other is the opening sentence of the Preface to "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy (p. vii). Note their similarity: "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty," and, "To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings." Could any but the inspired have written these sentences? Acknowledging these remarkable utterances to be not only divinely true but demonstrable in human experience, mankind awakens to the possibility of abiding peace and freedom from fear of all that is unreal, including the beliefs in sickness, sorrow, or sin. A realization, then, of the sustaining power and presence of the infinite is the cure for all disease produced by fear or by any other form of mortal belief. It only remains for us to seek that divine presence. The Psalmist apparently comprehended this when he emphasized the necessity of dwelling in the "secret place of the most High." No fear could enter that abiding place; no evil could befall those sheltered there by divine Love.

Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, teachhes throughout Science and Health that no other reliance than that which is placed on the divine source of all good can be acknowledged by those who accept, and endeavor to apply, the healing truth taught in Christian Science. In emphasizing the fact of divine protection for those who abide in God's presence, Mrs. Eddy writes on page 495 of Science and Health: "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."

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