"Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." These words of the Psalmist express the humble desire of every sincere Christian Scientist. He is conscious of God as the infinitely good One, to whom rightfully belong honor and glory, and he knows that it is possible truly to worship Him only as his life shows forth "the beauty of holiness."
The followers of Christ Jesus recognize that "holiness" best expresses the ideal state of consciousness to which they should aspire; for it includes righteousness and purity, as well as gentleness and humility. We think of its possessor as one who has in no small degree overcome world-liness, and is living in close communion with God; one who is ever prayerfully reaching out for a greater measure of spiritual understanding, in order to rise more completely above the temptations of material sense. Moreover, when we think of holiness, we picture to ourselves a consciousness wherein dwell beauty and serenity, a mentality where the desire is to cherish good to the exclusion of all unlike good.
The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews admonishes Christians to "follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." He thus ranks holiness very highly, since he declares it to be indispensable, along with peaceableness, to the seeing of the Lord, or, as it may be interpreted, to the perception of Truth. This is well under stood by the Christian Scientist, for Christian Science has taught him, even what the Master taught, that only the pure in heart shall see God. His wish, consequently, is for holiness, that he may attain to an ever increasing measure of spiritual enlightenment.
