Paul's words, "Rejoice evermore," to the church of the Thessalonians bring out what was a striking feature of this apostle's general demeanor. No matter what the condition in which he might find himself, whether it was in the company of the friends who knew the spiritual truth as he himself did, or whether he was being subjected to the mockery of men or to the imprisonment they imposed upon him, Paul was able to rise to a very marked extent above all such impositions, because he saw the illusory nature of them all, through his understanding of the truth as it had been revealed by Christ Jesus.

An outstanding example of this is recorded in the sixteenth chapter of Acts. Paul and Silas had been thrown into prison, their feet being made fast in the stocks. "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God ... and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed." Then followed the conversion of the keeper of the prison and all his household to the spiritual truth which had enabled Paul and Silas to bring about their freedom from the bonds and ultimately their final release from the prison environs. The liberation was a demonstration of their knowledge of Principle.

Now it is quite impossible to explain this incident without an understanding of divine metaphysics. The incident is analogous to the victory of Christ Jesus over the tomb. For three days he was doing a great work there. At the end of that time the Master came forth from the rock-hewn sepulcher from which the stone had been rolled away, prepared to make his final demonstration over material belief at the ascension. How were these marvelous things done? What enabled these men to break what was generally accepted as hard and fast material law, to set aside this so-called law which sought to bind, enslave, and torture them? These are questions Christian Science answers clearly and unhesitatingly.

Christian Science declares the truth that there exists one infinite Mind or Spirit. This Mind or Spirit is God, to whom Jesus referred as "the Father." Christian Science recognizes the error which mankind has made and does so frequently continue to make about God,—that He is limited; and taking congnizance of this mistake Christian Science maintains that first and foremost the Christian world must recognize, admit, and demonstrate the truth that God is infinite or unlimited in every one of His attributes, for it is only by so doing that the truth about God is carried to its logical and ultimate conclusion.

One such conclusion is, then, that Spirit being infinite or All-in-all, matter can have no reality. And if matter is unreal, the laws pertaining to matter must also be unreal. The real universe is altogether spiritual; and this real universe of spiritual ideas is governed by spiritual law which is absolute, perfect, and invariable, like its divine Principle, God. It is this knowledge which is the cause of all genuine spiritual liberation and consequent rejoicing. The man who understands to some extent the allness of Spirit and the nothingness of matter, is even now to that extent under the guidance of spiritual law, which is omnipotent; and he can rejoice even circumstances which may seem the darkest and most foreboding to human consciousness, because he knows that just in proportion as he is faithful in applying his knowledge of Truth, spiritual law is found operative in his case to destroy the illusory material conditions which false belief would seek to convince him are formidable and real. He rejoices in the knowledge he has acquired of divine Principle and in the fact that he can apply his knowledge to the trouble which is upon him. He strives to realize the import of these words of Mrs. Eddy (Science and Health, p. 249): "Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor material power as able to destroy. Let us rejoice that we are subject to the divine 'powers that be.' "

It would be difficult to imagine anything that could bring greater joy to one than a demonstration of Christian Science healing, a demonstration of spiritual deliverance. The seventy whom Jesus sent out while he was still with them experienced it. Luke records that "the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name." They had understood the truth sufficiently to heal not only sickness but sin, and they rejoiced in the fact. Such healings are occurring to-day through Christian Science. Every healing that takes place through the understanding of Principle, through the same understanding, in degree, as Jesus possessed, brings with it happiness and joy; and the joy does not arise alone from the mere overcoming but also from what it represents. The truth about the allness of Spirit, the truth about the omnipresence and omnipotence of good and the nothingness of matter or evil, had been grasped, and with the knowing of the truth the sickness or the sin had vanished away. That was the cause of the rejoicing.

In one of her poems, "Feed My Sheep" (Poem, p. 14), Mrs. Eddy gives utterance to what is the desire of every Christian Scientist. The earnest seeker after Truth, equally desirous for its application to the needs of humanity, is therein seen in the attitude of one yearning for the guidance of the divine Principle of good, desirous that spiritual understanding should take the place of "the stubborn will," and to be saved thereby from the pitfalls of temporary human triumph or the tears of human disappointment, at the same time rejoicing alway. The first verse of the poem brings out very wonderfully the position of all who have gained some understanding of Principle, and who are seeking to apply it as they proceed along "the rugged way":—