The ninety-first psalm from beginning to end expresses the trust of the writer of it in God. It is a pouring forth in song of faith steadfastly established in the Almighty as refuge, protector, deliverer. And what untold consolation it has brought to unnumbered thousands, both before and since the Christian era began! The weary, heavy-laden heart, unable to find rest and peace in the material theories of men, has turned time and again to the inspired verses of this psalm, listened to their glad spiritual cadences, and been revived, strengthened, delivered, healed. Many, very many, have experienced such results throughout the generations since the psalm was written, and long before the scientific method of deliverance and healing had been revealed to the world by Christian Science. These three verses alone, in their exquisite phrasing, as well as in the spiritual truth they embody, could hardly be surpassed: "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."
His angels! How can God's angels take care of us? Are there such things as angels at all? have not we all asked, perhaps many times? The Bible certainly contains many references to angels, and recounts several of their missions to men. Those who saw them or heard them had no doubt as to whence they came; and although they may have seemed to present themselves in human form, they were inspired thoughts coming to consciousness,—as probably those to whom they came knew. To refer to a single reference to angels in the Bible: after Christ Jesus had been betrayed by the kiss of Judas and "one of them which were with Jesus" had "struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear,"—a condition which the Master had to heal,—he said, "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?" The Master had, however, to fulfill the Scriptures; but had it been otherwise, the warrior legions of Rome would have been rendered absolutely impotent before the angels of God.
The angels of God are available still; more so, indeed, than ever they were before; for we know more about them now, since Christian Science has revealed their nature to us. What, again, are angels? Mrs. Eddy, in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 581), tells us exactly what they are. She writes: "Angels. God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality." Truly, a wonderful revelation! Now, when we consider that God is all-inclusive, and that man is therefore never separate from Him, we can understand how God's thoughts pass to man, or, in other words, how man reflects divine Mind, since God is Mind. Suppose, then, a case to arise where one is in difficulty or danger. What is the so-called danger? Is not God, good, all-inclusive Being? He is. Then what we may call a difficult or dangerous situation—and it may appear to take the form of sickness or accident—is, as Christian Science explains, nothing but an error of belief, an illusion, an unreal condition of mortal thought. Whenever this is clearly seen and we realize the allness of God, an "angel" has come to us; and as surely as it has come, it will dispel the false belief, destroying contagion, banishing plague, averting disaster. That is the manner of spiritual protection, which is farther removed from the poor material methods of mankind than the stars are above the earth.
