Page:The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany.djvu/157

Rh see if there be found anywhere a deterrent of Truth and Love, and “hold fast that which is good.”

I reluctantly foresee great danger threatening our nation, — imperialism, monopoly, and a lax system of religion. But the spirit of humanity, ethics, and Christianity sown broadcast — all concomitants of Christian Science — is taking strong hold of the public thought throughout our beloved country and in foreign lands, and is tending to counteract the trend of mad ambition.

There is no night but in God's frown; there is no day but in His smile. The oracular skies, the verdant earth — bird, brook, blossom, breeze, and balm — are richly fraught with divine reflection. They come at Love's call. The nod of Spirit is nature's natal.

And how is man, seen through the lens of Spirit, enlarged, and how counterpoised his origin from dust, and how he presses to his original, never severed from Spirit! O ye who leap disdainfully from this rock of ages, return and plant thy steps in Christ, Truth, “the stone which the builders rejected”! Then will angels administer grace, do thy errands, and be thy dearest allies. The divine law gives to man health and life everlasting — gives a soul to Soul, a present harmony wherein the good man's heart takes hold on heaven, and whose feet can never be moved. These are His green pastures beside still waters, where faith mounts upward, expatiates, strengthens, and exults.

Lean not too much on your Leader. Trust God to direct your steps. Accept my counsel and teachings only as they include the spirit and the letter of the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the teachings and example of Christ Jesus. Refrain from public