MAN'S DWELLING PLACE

Our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, once addressed a meeting in Christian Science Hall, Concord, New Hampshire, and spoke for forty-five minutes on the ninety-first Psalm, as recorded in "Twelve Years with Mary Baker Eddy" by Irving C. Tomlinson. The author tells us (p. 137), "Mrs. Eddy opened her message with the deeply impressive declaration that the ninety-first Psalm contains 'more of meaning than is condensed into so many words anywhere else in all literature, except in the Sermon on the Mount.'"

The first verse of this psalm establishes man's dwelling place, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

Man, in Christian Science, is the offspring, the reflection, of God and dwells always in the secret place of the Almighty, the atmosphere of divine Love. This place, known to the inspired thought, is unknown to mortal mind, to personal sense, will power, animal magnetism, and all beliefs of sin, disease, and death. This secret place cannot be considered outranked by any higher state of thought or position; it belongs to the Most High, God.

We dwell under the Almighty's shade as we recognize the presence and power of the Christ, God's true idea. The presence of the Christ is evidenced by the peace, good will, and divine revelation which lift thought above the mortal to the immortal.

The Christ-consciousness is put on when self-pity, self-love, and self-will are put off and destroyed by Truth. In order to demonstrate man's absolute security under the protective shadow of his divine Father and resting upon the rock of Christ, Truth, we must hourly grow Christlike by expressing the qualities of God such as purity, integrity, justice, mercy, holiness.

"Thus founded upon the rock of Christ, when storm and tempest beat against this sure foundation, you, safely sheltered in the strong tower of hope, faith, and Love, are God's nestlings; and He will hide you in His feathers till the storm has passed." So wrote Mrs. Eddy to the members of a branch Church of Christ, Scientist (Miscellaneous Writing, p. 152).

The individual who dwells in the secret place of divine Love is convinced of the omnipresence of God, Spirit, and of the consequent nothingness of mortal mind and its manifestation, matter. He who abides in the consciousness of God's presence knows that man is always in his right place and is always about his Father's business. This abiding awakens thought to the ever-present Mind, God, supreme over all. Security is the outcome of spiritualized thought.

In Matthew, we read that Christ Jesus was tempted by the devil. According to the second temptation, the devil took him to "the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple"(4:5). The tempter then said, "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone."

Satan's reference to certain portions of the ninety-first Psalm shows his recognition of Jesus' acquaintanceship with its provisions—provisions which, when properly applied, destroy erring, evil suggestions in everyday life. Jesus destroyed Satan's temptation by saying, "It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Here Jesus was no doubt stressing that to believe for a single instant that the offspring of God dwell in any physical, mental, or moral danger is a direct temptation to believe that His love is not sufficient to meet every human need.

In the ninety-first Psalm we also read: "Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." Here we have Biblical authority to deny the deceitful testimony of the material senses, which claim the presence of discord, inharmony, or insecurity.

True being is not an animal existence, cramped and confined within the boundaries of physical limitations. Man, in Science, has never dwelt in any place other than the secret place of the Most High. As these facts are seen and acknowledged, the fear of mortal body, matter, and so-called material life will vanish.

Mrs. Eddy writes in "Pulpit and Press" (p. 3): "Our surety is in our confidence that we are indeed dwellers in Truth and Love, man's eternal mansion. Such a heavenly assurance ends all warfare, and bids tumult cease, for the good fight we have waged is over, and divine Love gives us the true sense of victory."