Laying a Corner Stone

Hymn 141

CHEERFULNESS
If the Lord build not the house
They that labor build in vain;
Father, may our corner stone
Stand foursquare, without a stain.
Make our planting timely, true,
Governed by a power benign;
Nourish by a heavenly dew
All the branches and the vine.
Fruitful shall our tillage be,
Known the work of perfect Mind,
Leaves be gathered from the tree
For the healing of mankind.
Cleansing men of fear and hate,
Lifting hope above the sod,
Truth will summon, soon or late,
​All the earth to worship God.



Eccl. 10:18; 11:1, 4-6
¶ By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. ... He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

Isa. 28:16, 17
¶ Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

I Pet. 2:1-6
Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, andprecious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

Rev. 21:16 (to 1st ,)
And the city lieth foursquare,

Heb. 11:10 a
a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

​Eph. 2:19-22
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Matt. 18:20
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

II Cor. 13:14
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
SH 241:13-30
The Bible teaches transformation of the body by the renewal of Spirit. Take away the spiritual signification of Scripture, and that compilation can do no more for mortals than can moonbeams to melt a river of ice. The error of the ages is preaching without practice.
The substance of all devotion is the reflection and demonstration of divine Love, healing sickness and destroying sin. Our Master said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
One’s aim, a point beyond faith, should be to find the footsteps of Truth, the way to health and holiness. We should strive to reach the Horeb height where God is revealed; and the corner-stone of all spiritual building is purity. The baptism of Spirit, washing the body of all the impurities of flesh, signifies that the pure in heart see God and are approaching spiritual Life and its demonstration.


SH 136:1-5, 9-14
Jesus established his church and maintained his mission on a spiritual foundation of Christ-healing. He taught his followers that his religion had a divine Principle, which would cast out error and heal both the sick and the sinning.
The question then as now was, How did Jesus heal the sick? His answer to this question the world rejected. He appealed to his students: “Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?” That is: Who or what is it that is thus identified with casting out evils and healing the sick?


SH 137:16-5
With his usual impetuosity, Simon replied for his brethren, and his reply set forth a great fact: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God!” That is: The Messiah is what thou hast declared, — Christ, the spirit of God, of Truth, Life, and Love, which heals mentally. This assertion elicited from Jesus the benediction, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven;” that is, Love hath shown thee the way of Life!
Before this the impetuous disciple had been called only by his common names, Simon Bar-jona, or son of Jona; but now the Master gave him a spiritual name in these words: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter; and upon this rock [the meaning of the Greek word petros, or stone] I will build my church; and the gates of hell [hades, the under-world, or the grave] shall not prevail against it.” In other words, Jesus purposed founding his society, not on the personal Peter as a mortal, but on the God-power which lay behind Peter’s confession of the true Messiah.


SH 583:12-19
Church. The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle.
The Church is that institution, which affords proof of its utility and is found elevating the race, rousing the dormant understanding from material beliefs to the apprehension of spiritual ideas and the demonstration of divine Science, thereby casting out devils, or error, and healing the sick.


SH 35:20-25
We can unite with this church only as we are new-born of Spirit, as we reach the Life which is Truth and the Truth which is Life by bringing forth the fruits of Love, — casting out error and healing the sick.


SH 468:9 There
There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter. All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all. Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error. Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness. Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual.



Hymn 276

Peace be to this congregation;
Peace to every heart therein;
Peace, the earnest of salvation;
Peace, the fruit of conquered sin;
Peace, that speaks the heavenly Giver;
Peace, to worldly minds unknown;
Peace, that floweth as a river
From th’ eternal source alone.
O Thou God of peace, be near us,
Fix within our hearts Thy home;
With Thy bright appearing cheer us,
In Thy blessed freedom come.
Come with all Thy revelations,
Truth which we so long have sought;
Come with Thy deep consolations,
Peace of God which passeth thought.

Hymn 293

Attrib. to J. S. Bach
Rock of Ages, Truth divine,
Be Thy strength forever mine;
Let me rest secure on Thee,
Safe above life’s raging sea.
Rock of Ages, Truth divine,
Be Thy strength forever mine.
Rock of Truth, our fortress strong,
Thou our refuge from all wrong,
When from mortal sense I flee,
Let me hide myself in Thee.
Rock of Ages, Truth divine,
Be Thy strength forever mine.
Christ, the Truth, foundation sure,
On this rock we are secure;
Peace is there our life to fill,
Cure is there for every ill.
Rock of Ages, Truth divine,
Be Thy strength forever mine.