"THE Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever" (Ps. 29:10). These words stood out with startling insistence from the page of an open Bible, awakening, challenging, energizing the thought of a student who seemed overcome by the dreary array of difficulties, restrictions, and limitations which confronted those in the European war zone during the winter of 1942. The world outlook was dark, nights were disturbed, many things were in short supply. The demands upon time and thought were very urgent.
The student read the words aloud, and then as if in reply found herself saying, "Yes, and that is exactly where I am going to sit, and I am not going to get wet!" With a newly awakened expectancy and interest she opened the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, to seek the spiritual understanding with which she knew the floods must be surmounted. She read the following passages, all occurring on page 505: "Spiritual understanding, by which human conception, material sense, is separated from Truth, is the firmament." "Genesis i. 7. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so." "Understanding is the line of demarcation between the real and unreal. Spiritual understanding unfolds Mind,— Life, Truth, and Love,—and demonstrates the divine sense, giving the spiritual proof of the universe in Christian Science."
Here was the immediate answer. Spiritual understanding alone can separate these conflicting viewpoints, the material sense of things, from the true idea, silencing the former and bringing to light the latter. "The divine sense, giving the spiritual proof of the universe," was therefore within reach of spiritual apprehension. Immediately the burdened and confused sense of having many problems lifted, and the student turned gratefully and unreservedly to the universe of Mind's creating, with a new consciousness of God's presence and power which prophesied victory.
To the metaphysician, replacing material concepts of the universe and man with the spiritual idea of Life and creation, comes the capacity to reflect and to exercise spiritual law, which corrects discordant conditions in the measure it is understood. The line of demarcation, called in the Bible "firmament" and designated by Mrs. Eddy "spiritual understanding," can thus be proved to be master over the floods that mortal mind may send forth. This understanding rebukes the tumult and reveals the ever-present peace and power of God.
It was on this line of demarcation, where the fundamental perfection of God's creation appears to thought, that Christ Jesus maintained his stand for spiritual reality. He exercised supreme ascendancy over all adverse material conditions. He walked the waves, stilled the storm, and brought the ship immediately to its destination. The money required for tribute to Caesar was found in the fish's mouth. This mastery over wind and wave, this instantaneous supply for immediate needs, illustrated Jesus' control, through divine power, of human phenomena. His is the example for every age, to be progressively demonstrated by the students of the Science of Life.
As the human consciousness instructed in spiritual values learns to discern between the true and the false, the seeming causes of the world's evil will be more fully uncovered in order that they may be destroyed. Then will the control over material forces by spiritual law, which the Bible chronicles, and which Mrs. Eddy's revelation of divine Science makes practical, become more and more apparent.
John wrote (Rev. 10:1, 2) that he saw a mighty angel coming down from heaven, "and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth." Commenting on John's record, Mrs. Eddy writes (Science and Health, p. 559): "This angel had in his hand 'a little book,' open for all to read and understand. Did this same book contain the revelation of divine Science, the 'right foot' or dominant power of which was upon the sea,—upon elementary, latent error, the source of all error's visible forms? The angel's left foot was upon the earth; that is, a secondary power was exercised upon visible error and audible sin. The 'still, small voice' of scientific thought reaches over continent and ocean to the globe's remotest bound."
As the human or mortal consciousness advances towards the spiritual ideal, the line of demarcation between the real and the unreal becomes more clearly defined. Here elementary latent error is detected, rejected, and corrected to prevent its taking form in "visible error and audible sin." Thus the transformation and regeneration of the individual consciousness take place.
Many are the instances of spiritual ascendancy gained by the students of this Science over mortal mind's spurious activities during the war, at sea, in the air, on land, in concentration camps, in prisons, and in the nations' council chambers. These victories were primarily the overcoming by spiritual understanding and faith of mortal thoughts and their expression; the conquest in individual consciousness of fear, of false laws of environment, of cruelty, self-will, domination, dishonesty, and other evil characteristics. Such triumphs not only have enriched and elevated those achieving them, but have frequently benefited their fellows. They have also won recognition from onlookers, a recognition of the capacity of thought that is imbued with divine power.
The divine design of God's government of the universe, including man, will be brought into expression—into universal cognition—as men learn spiritually to control temperamental weaknesses and other faults of character. As this is achieved, man's birthright of dominion will be progressively apparent. Then will appear the new heaven and the new earth, coming individually and collectively and culminating in the prophecy, "And there was no more sea."
From Science and Health comes this comforting assurance (p. 536): "In St. John's vision, heaven and earth stand for spiritual ideas, and the sea, as a symbol of tempest-tossed human concepts advancing and receding, is represented as having passed away. The divine understanding reigns, is all, and there is no other consciousness." Here are Mrs. Eddy's prophecy and promise of the end of the material sea; the replacement of all fluctuating, fallible human concepts by the unchanging, unchangeable substance of divine ideas, forever established, protected, revealed, by the line of demarcation, the firmament of God's creating, the allness of divine consciousness.
Then will the Psalmist's inspired exhortation become universally acknowledged (Ps. 150:1): "Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power;" and then will men abide in the sanctuary, or spiritual consciousness of the universe and man.
