IN the thirtieth chapter of I Samuel is the account of David's finding, on his return to Ziklag, that the city had been destroyed and the inhabitants taken captive. His distress was intensified at first when those who were with him "spake of stoning him." But while the thoughts of his followers were filled with malice, as it is written, "David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." In other words, David prayed. Listening to the thoughts which came to him from God, he was impervious to the attacks of evil from within and without. He was humble before God. He was not overwhelmed by a sense of shame because of this experience. He used it as an opportunity to encourage and strengthen his heart in communion with God. Then with divine guidance and assurance he went forward, taking with him his erstwhile erring followers to recover that which had been carried away.
Through encouraging himself David was able lovingly and generously to encourage those who would have smitten him. Indeed, it was for their sakes as well as his own that he was inspired to forget the human sense of self and to press forward. With such preparation and consecration there was no doubt of the final triumph over error. He was led, step by step, to victory. And it is written, "David recovered all." Through this experience David undoubtedly glimpsed the fact that the qualities of faith and courage which called forth noble and selfless deeds on behalf of himself and others, were in reality part of his true selfhood.
What a comfort the experience of David has been, and will ever be, to those who are laboring in an apparently limited environment! Exercising the good they know, reflecting the qualities of divine Love under whatever circumstances, surely prepares them and lifts them into greater opportunities for service to mankind, even as the shepherd boy was called one day from his faithful and loving labors in obscurity to larger opportunities.
David found that as he obeyed God, he was able to go forward with joy and confidence to the overcoming of error. When beset by enemies from within and without he entered, through prayer, into communion with God, where he found complete protection; and every time he entered this sanctuary, impelled by differing needs, he grew in the sweet assurance that he was greatly loved, and that God's love, mercy, power, providence, compassion, are made manifest to those who dwell therein.
Our revered Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, has written 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."
The book of Psalms, beloved by humanity, is rich in proof of the successful struggles from helplessness and weariness towards the outstretched arms of God, and thus to victory over self. Indeed, it shows that when human sense recognizes its own inability and becomes less arrogant one becomes more receptive to the ever present ministrations of the divine Comforter.
As Longfellow has written,
. . . the feeble hands and helpless,
Groping blindly in the darkness,
Touch God's right hand in that darkness
And are lifted up and strengthened.
Helplessness is generally the result of a state of discouragement or self-condemnation. It is the effect of personal sense urging the acceptance of a false sense of self, limitation under so-called law, imperfection, together with the erroneous suggestion that there is no hope, no avenue of escape, and no reward for honest aims and desires. But helplessness is a lie.
Mrs. Eddy writes on page 14 of her Message to The Mother Church for 1900 (p. 14), "The angel that spake unto the churches cites Jesus as 'he that hath the key of David; that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth; ' in other words, he that toiled for the spiritually indispensable." Encouragement through prayer is the key to the "secret place" which all may possess; the spiritual understanding gained through Christian Science, which opens the door to Truth, Love, light, and harmony, and closes it to doubt, despair, discord, and darkness. Encouragement is indeed essential, for it calls for the cultivation of the tender affections, without which no one can lay claim to being a practitioner of Christian Science. Daily, hourly, the encouraging assurance of the ever-presence of the Comforter is needed by everyone.
Our beloved Leader, Mrs. Eddy, constantly praying for courage, turned unfalteringly to the support of divine Love. She was herself tenderly affectionate and encouraging to all. She writes that in order to accomplish genuine healing there must be "the tender word and Christian encouragement of an invalid, pitiful patience with his fears and the removal of them" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 367) . That the warmth of spiritual love may be felt and expressed in all that is said and done, is her longing appeal for the sick and the brokenhearted.
Jesus, the great Exemplar, emphasized this need of encouragement when in the beginning of his ministry he read from the prophecy of Esaias, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."
Throughout the Gospels we read of how the Way-shower sought opportunities for prayer to encourage himself in the midst of his labors for others. It was for the sake of others, as well as for himself, that he sought refreshment through prayer, in order that he might go forward with joy. Our beloved Master, who knew so well this need of loving reassurance for himself, first cheered and comforted those who came to him for healing, thus lifting them above fear and the false sense of self into some realization of their true being.
Because of his great love Jesus never condemned those who came to him for healing, but he rebuked the error and cast it out. He fulfilled his mission, which was to save, not to condemn. Through his parables he illustrated how divine Love is ever waiting to bless.
The sweet and tender vision was revealed to the Psalmist that God delivers His children because He delights in them. This vision came to the fullness of perfection with Jesus, who said, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." The loving Shepherd's voice is forever tenderly calling, revealing to all the ever-presence of the eternal love of God for man.
