Divine Protection

Duncan Sinclair

In the first epistle of Peter these arresting and comforting words are written: "The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers. ... And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?" They convey the assuring message that the righteous are under divine protection; that the followers of good, by virtue of their goodness, can come to no harm.

Long before Peter reiterated the doctrine of the Master, the Psalmist had voiced the same great truth; for it is written in the one hundred and forty-fifth psalm. "The Lord preserveth all them that love him." So that it can truly be said that the enlightened Hebrew consciousness, like the more enlightened Christian consciousness, reposed its faith in divine protection, and that both Hebrew and Christian had the same basis for this faith, namely, love for God, or good.

Many years have passed since the Psalmist and the apostle penned their words, yet they stand to-day as true and as directive as ever, the erring seeing in them a warning, the upright finding in them the explanation of the harmony of their lives. And this has been accentuated by the marvelous light which Christian Science has thrown on the nature of God and of His law, the divine law, which, because of God's omnipresence, is universal in its acticity. Christian Science reveals God as infinite omnipresent good. It shows divine law to be the law of good, and that in reality there is no other law. It brings to light the fact that since God, good, is infinite, evil is unreal; and that, therefore, there is no law of evil—no evil law. What follows? That God's creation, the universe of spiritual ideas, is ever under the law of good, and is therefore continually under divine protection. And as man is God's idea, man is always under divine protection.

Consider the bearing of what has just been said on the lives of men, men who are believing in the reality of both good and evil. They are of the opinion that they are under the dominance of two laws, the law of good and the law of evil; and exactly in the measure of their belief, so they appear to be. The result is that in the world all manner of suffering is to be found side by side with harmony and joy and peace. And this will continue, though in decreasing ratio, until through Christian Science all shall have come to the understanding of the allness of God, good, and the unreality of so-called evil.

It is of the utmost importance, not only for their own sakes, but for the good of the whole world, that all who gain an understanding of the universality of the law of good should conform their lives thereto. This means that they shall endeavor to live in conformity with good, thinking righteous, pure thoughts, and expressing these in upright lives. And so thinking and acting, they will not fail to be protected. Mrs. Eddy writes on page 385 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "Let us remember that the eternal law of right, though it can never annul the law which makes sin its own executioner, exempts man from all penalties but those due for wrong-doing."

How common it is to hear people talk of weariness and sickness as resulting from work! Mrs. Eddy has something very enlightening to say on this, to the generality of men, very important topic. She writes in the paragraph immediately following that just quoted from: "Constant toil, deprivations, exposures, and all untoward conditions, if without sin, can be experienced without suffering. Whatever it is your duty to do, you can do without harm to yourself." Note the condition—"if without sin." Mrs. Eddy is telling all who will listen to her inspired message, that the universal law of good is a sure protection; that the path of righteous endeavor leads not to distress or inharmony. How it lifts fear from the thought of the conscientious worker to know this!

What, then, should be the aim of those who would experience divine protection as that on which they can rely at all times? They must strive to gain an ever increasing knowledge of Christian Science, which elucidates the rules of righteous living, and strive equally earnestly to practice these rules. God, good, is Principle—absolute, unerring divine Principle; and obedience to Principle ensures protection under the law of good. It is wonderful to think that the law of God, good, stands revealed to-day through Christian Science, and that this Science makes known to men the method whereby good can be demonstrated in their lives to ensure their protection against evil in all its supposititious forms.

Duncan Sinclair

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Notes from the Publishing House

November 17, 1928

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