Bar the Door of Your Thought

Gal. 6:3 if
3if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

Job 38:2-11 (to :)
2Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? 3Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. 4Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? 9When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, 10And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, 11And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further:
John 9:1-27 as
1as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. 4I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. 5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. 6When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, 7And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. 8¶ The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? 9Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. 10Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? 11He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. 12Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. 13¶ They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. 14And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. 15Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. 16Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. 17They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. 18But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. 19And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? 20His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: 21But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. 22These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. 23Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him. 24Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. 25He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. 26Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? 27He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?
Matt. 12:22-29
22¶ Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 23And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. 25And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast themout? therefore they shall be your judges. 28But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 29Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.

Matt. 9:2-7
2And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 3And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This manblasphemeth. 4And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7And he arose, and departed to his house.

Matt. 9:16, 17
16No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 17Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

Col. 3:8-16
8But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 11Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. 12Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

I Cor. 13:1-11
1Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 4Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Rom. 12:2 1st be
2be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.


SH 392:24 Stand (only, to 2nd .)
Stand porter at the door of thought.

SH 393:16
No pain in matter     Be firm in your understanding that the divine Mind
governs, and that in Science man reflects God’s govern-
ment. Have no fear that matter can ache,
swell, and be inflamed as the result of a law
of any kind, when it is self-evident that matter can have
no pain nor inflammation. Your body would suffer no
more from tension or wounds than the trunk of a tree
which you gash or the electric wire which you stretch,
were it not for mortal mind.
SH 15:9-24
To enter into the
heart of prayer, the door of the erring senses must be
closed. Lips must be mute and materialism silent,
that man may have audience with Spirit, the divine
Principle, Love, which destroys all error. Effectual invocation
    In order to pray aright, we must enter into the
closet and shut the door. We must close the lips and
silence the material senses. In the quiet
sanctuary of earnest longings, we must
deny sin and plead God’s allness. We must resolve to
take up the cross, and go forth with honest hearts to
work and watch for wisdom, Truth, and Love. We
must “pray without ceasing.” Such prayer is an-
swered, in so far as we put our desires into practice.
The Master’s injunction is, that we pray in secret and
let our lives attest our sincerity.
SH 234:9-3
Hospitality to health and good     We should become more familiar with good than with
evil, and guard against false beliefs as watchfully as we
bar our doors against the approach of thieves
and murderers. We should love our enemies
and help them on the basis of the Golden
Rule; but avoid casting pearls before those who trample
them under foot, thereby robbing both themselves and
others. Cleansing the mind
    If mortals would keep proper ward over mortal mind,
the brood of evils which infest it would be cleared out.
We must begin with this so-called mind and
empty it of sin and sickness, or sin and sick-
ness will never cease. The present codes of human
systems disappoint the weary searcher after a divine
theology, adequate to the right education of human
thought.
    Sin and disease must be thought before they can be
manifested. You must control evil thoughts in the first
instance, or they will control you in the second. Jesus
declared that to look with desire on forbidden objects was
to break a moral precept. He laid great stress on the
action of the human mind, unseen to the senses.
    Evil thoughts and aims reach no farther and do no more
harm than one’s belief permits. Evil thoughts, lusts, and
malicious purposes cannot go forth, like wandering pollen,
from one human mind to another, finding unsuspected
lodgment, if virtue and truth build a strong defence.
SH 451:31-14, 15-27
Indispensable defence     Show your student that mental malpractice tends to
blast moral sense, health, and the human life. Instruct
him how to bar the door of his thought against this
seeming power, — a task not difficult, when one under-
stands that evil has in reality no power.
Incorrect reasoning leads to practical error.
The wrong thought should be arrested before it has a
chance to manifest itself. Egotistic darkness
    Walking in the light, we are accustomed to the light
and require it; we cannot see in darkness. But eyes ac-
customed to darkness are pained by the light.
When outgrowing the old, you should not fear
to put on the new. Your advancing course may pro-
voke envy, but it will also attract respect. When error
confronts you, withhold not the rebuke or the explana-
tion which destroys error. Better is
the frugal intellectual repast with contentment and virtue,
than the luxury of learning with egotism and vice. Unwarranted expectations
    Right is radical. The teacher must know the truth
himself. He must live it and love it, or he cannot impart
it to others. We soil our garments with con-
servatism, and afterwards we must wash them
clean. When the spiritual sense of Truth unfolds its
harmonies, you take no risks in the policy of error. Ex-
pect to heal simply by repeating the author’s words, by
right talking and wrong acting, and you will be disap-
pointed. Such a practice does not demonstrate the
Science by which divine Mind heals the sick.
SH 392:27-15
When the condition is present
which you say induces disease, whether it be air, exercise,
heredity, contagion, or accident, then perform your office
as porter and shut out these unhealthy thoughts and fears.
Exclude from mortal mind the offending errors; then the
body cannot suffer from them. The issues of pain or
pleasure must come through mind, and like a watchman
forsaking his post, we admit the intruding belief, forget-
ting that through divine help we can forbid this entrance. The strength of Spirit
    The body seems to be self-acting, only because mortal
mind is ignorant of itself, of its own actions, and of their
results, — ignorant that the predisposing, re-
mote, and exciting cause of all bad effects is a
law of so-called mortal mind, not of matter. Mind is the
master of the corporeal senses, and can conquer sickness,
sin, and death. Exercise this God-given authority. Take
possession of your body, and govern its feeling and action.
Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike
good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing
can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on
man.
SH 141:13-10
In healing the sick and sinning,
Jesus elaborated the fact that the healing effect
followed the understanding of the divine Principle and
of the Christ-spirit which governed the corporeal Jesus.
For this Principle there is no dynasty, no ecclesiastical
monopoly. Its only crowned head is immortal sover-
eignty. Its only priest is the spiritualized man. The
Bible declares that all believers are made “kings and
priests unto God.” The outsiders did not then, and
do not now, understand this ruling of the Christ; there-
fore they cannot demonstrate God’s healing power.
Neither can this manifestation of Christ be com-
prehended, until its divine Principle is scientifically
understood. A change demanded
    The adoption of scientific religion and of divine heal-
ing will ameliorate sin, sickness, and death. Let our
pulpits do justice to Christian Science. Let
it have fair representation by the press. Give
to it the place in our institutions of learning now occu-
pied by scholastic theology and physiology, and it will
eradicate sickness and sin in less time than the old systems,
devised for subduing them, have required for self-estab-
lishment and propagation. Two claims omitted
    Anciently the followers of Christ, or Truth, measured
Christianity by its power over sickness, sin, and death;
but modern religions generally omit all but one
of these powers, — the power over sin. We
must seek the undivided garment, the whole Christ, as our
first proof of Christianity, for Christ, Truth, alone can
furnish us with absolute evidence.
SH 99:9-11
Truth has furnished
the key to the kingdom, and with this key Christian Sci-
ence has opened the door of the human understanding.
SH 10:14
    Seeking is not sufficient. It is striving that enables
us to enter. Spiritual attainments open the door to a
higher understanding of the divine Life.


Hymn 304

Hymn 304–309, 456
“Feed My Sheep”
Mary Baker Eddy
(304)
GUIDANCE
Lyman Brackett
(305)
SHEPHERD
Albert F. Conant
(306)
CONCORD
William Lyman Johnson
(307)
LLANFAIR
Arr. from Robert Williams
(308)
EGERTON
G. Thalben-Ball
(309)
BENEVOLENCE
E. Norman Greenwood
Shepherd, show me how to go
O’er the hillside steep,
How to gather, how to sow,--
How to feed Thy sheep;
I will listen for Thy voice,
Lest my footsteps stray;
I will follow and rejoice
All the rugged way.
Thou wilt bind the stubborn will,
Wound the callous breast,
Make self-righteousness be still,
Break earth’s stupid rest.
Strangers on a barren shore,
Lab’ring long and lone,
We would enter by the door,
And Thou know’st Thine own;
So, when day grows dark and cold,
Tear or triumph harms,
Lead Thy lambkins to the fold,
Take them in Thine arms;
Feed the hungry, heal the heart,
Till the morning’s beam;
White as wool, ere they depart,
Shepherd, wash them clean.
 

(New Arr.)
Hymn 431

Hymn 431
John Newton
Adapted
(431)
NEW BRITAIN
Traditional American melody
Arranged by Robert Rockabrand
Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a soul like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.

(New Hymnal #)
Hymn 324

Hymn 324, 457
Frances R. Havergal
Adapted
(324)
THEODORA
Arr. from G. F. Händel
Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my every thought, to use
In the way that Thou shalt choose.
Take my love; O Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
I am Thine, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.