During the Second World War a student of Christian Science living in a country frequently subjected to prolonged attack from the air derived great comfort from the ninety-first Psalm, particularly the opening verse, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Often, as enemy aircraft droned overhead and the whistle of falling bombs could be heard, those words gave him a sense of protection and peace, completely removing fear for himself or for those around him. Although bombs dropped nearby, neither he nor his neighbors suffered injury throughout the war years, nor were their homes seriously damaged.

Today the world is desperately seeking the way to safety. Is there a refuge from danger, and, if so, how shall men find it? The Bible answers these questions and contains many striking passages which stand out like signposts, pointing the way to safety. But more than mere human vision is required in order to discern their meaning.

Christ Jesus, the Way-shower, said (Matt. 13:15), "This people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."

In order to understand the instructions written on these signposts, we need the illumination which Christian Science throws on the Scriptures. In the Psalm already quoted we are directed to "the secret place." Mary Baker Eddy writes in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 244), "The 'secret place,' whereof David sang, is unquestionably man's spiritual state in God's own image and likeness, even the inner sanctuary of divine Science, in which mortals do not enter without a struggle or sharp experience, and in which they put off the human for the divine."

This "secret place" is a mental state, an inner spiritual sanctuary, not a physical place of refuge; it is a place into which we can enter only as we "put off the human for the divine," a spiritualized state of consciousness, a complete awareness of the infinite power of God, divine Love.

To attain such a state of consciousness, we need humility, for pride and belief in material personality cannot enter "the secret place." We need love—love for our brother—for we must take our concept of him with us. But we must leave outside all our false beliefs based upon the evidence of the corporeal senses. Then, as with clearing vision we look around us. preparing to enter, we find that already we stand within "the shadow of the Almighty"; for in our real selfhood we were there all the time.

At this point someone may ask, "But what of my mortal body; will this be protected?" Speaking of God, Paul tells us that "in him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28).

Christian Science reveals mortals to be the externalized expression of so-called mortal mind, which is but the counterfeit of the divine Mind, God; whereas man, the only real man, is a spiritual being, the expression of the divine Mind. Man is not dependent upon the material senses for his awareness of things. He is at all times fully conscious of God's omniscience and omnipotence; thus he dwells continually "in the secret place...under the shadow of the Almighty."

As we grasp these facts and begin to realize that life is entirely separate from seeming mortal existence, which is but a waking dream, an illusion of the corporeal senses, the human body is protected. As we gain a clearer view of our real selfhood, putting off, through spiritual sense, the false consciousness of mortality, we shall find that, even though we seem to be involved in a physical existence, we are really abiding under His shadow and are therefore protected from whatever danger may appear to threaten.

Mrs. Eddy graphically describes the process of spiritualization in "Miscellaneous Writings." She says (p. 185): "Self-renunciation of all that constitutes a so-called material man, and the acknowledgment and achievement of his spiritual identity as the child of God, is Science that opens the very flood-gates of heaven; whence good flows into every avenue of being, cleansing mortals of all uncleanness, destroying all suffering, and demonstrating the true image and likeness. There is no other way under heaven whereby we can be saved, and man be clothed with might, majesty, and immortality."

During an influenza epidemic the student mentioned in the first paragraph of this article allowed the fear of the epidemic to enter his consciousness, and he was soon suffering physically. He was again impelled to turn to the ninety-first Psalm for help.

As he dwelt in "the secret place," constantly turning away from the testimony of the physical senses, each of the symptoms which claimed to accompany this sickness was overcome as it manifested itself. He was so upheld and sustained that he was able to attend his office daily. In a few days the sickness abated, and he suffered none of the aftereffects supposedly attached to this complaint.

Thus, as we refuse to accept the erroneous evidence of the physical senses and become conscious of the all-presence and all-power of God, we shall find ourselves dwelling more and more in "the secret place," abiding under the shadow of divine Love, in perfect safety.