Give me, O Lord, an understanding heart,

That I may learn to know myself in Thee,

To spurn the wrong and choose the better part

And thus from sinful bondage be set free.

Give me, O Lord, a meek and contrite heart,

That I may learn to quell all selfish pride,

Bowing before Thee, see Thee as Thou art

And ‘neath Thy sheltering presence safely hide.

Give me, O Lord, a gentle, loving heart,

That I may learn to be more tender, kind,

And with Thy healing touch, each wound and smart

With Christly bands of Love and Truth to bind.

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SH 347:14

Christ, as the spiritual or true idea of God, comes now as of old, preaching the gospel to the poor, healing the sick, and casting out evils. Is it error which is restoring an essential element of Christianity, — namely, apostolic, divine healing? No; it is the Science of Christianity which is restoring it . . . .

SH 271:22-24

The Sermon on the Mount is the essence of this Science.

Matt. 5:1-3, 5

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. … Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Prov 22:4

By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.

Prov. 16:16, 18–19

How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! . . . Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Dan. 4:28-34, 37

All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee . . . . until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, . . . And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: . .. . Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

I Pet. 5:5-7

Be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Matt. 15:21-28

Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Ps. 15:1-2

Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

Ps. 10: 4, 9, 11-12, 14, 17

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. . . . he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. . . . He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it. Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble. . . .the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear.

I Sam. 25:2-39

There was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doing. . . .

And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: And thus shall ye say to him . . . . give I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to they son David.

And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? …Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?

And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. . . .: and there went up after David about four hundred men;

But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.

But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:

They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.

Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.

And, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them. And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, ….And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: ….Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord.

And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand.

And Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken. . .. And it came to pass about ten days after, that the Lord smote Nabal, that he died. And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he . . . . sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife.

Prov. 31:10-12, 20, 26, 28

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.. … She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

Mark 10:23

And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, ….. how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

Luke 18:9-17

He spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

Matt. 18:1-4

The disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Gal. 5:22 1st the, 23

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

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SH 270:23-24, 22-23

Meekness and charity have divine authority.

The pride of priesthood is the prince of this world. It has nothing in Christ.

SH 4:3-9, 12-22

What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds. To keep the commandments of our Master and follow his example, is our proper debt to him and the only worthy evidence of our gratitude for all that he has done.

The habitual struggle to be always good is unceasing prayer. Its motives are made manifest in the blessings they bring, — blessings which, even if not acknowledged in audible words, attest our worthiness to be partakers of Love.

Simply asking that we may love God will never make us love Him; but the longing to be better and holier, expressed in daily watchfulness and in striving to assimilate more of the divine character, will mould and fashion us anew, until we awake in His likeness.

SH 15:25-2

Christians rejoice in secret beauty and bounty, hidden from the world, but known to God. Self-forgetfulness, purity, and affection are constant prayers. Practice not profession, understanding not belief, gain the ear and right hand of omnipotence and they assuredly call down infinite blessings. Trustworthiness is the foundation of enlightened faith. Without a fitness for holiness, we cannot receive holiness.

A great sacrifice of material things must precede this advanced spiritual understanding.

SH 53:3, 16-18

Jesus was no ascetic. He did not fast as did the Baptist’s disciples; yet there never lived a man so far removed from appetites and passions as the Nazarene. . . . The world could not interpret aright the discomfort which Jesus inspired and the spiritual blessings which might flow from such discomfort.

SH 343:21-24

It would sometimes seem as if truth were rejected because meekness and spirituality are the conditions of its acceptance, while Christendom generally demands so much less.

SH 448:2-7

Blindness and self-righteousness cling fast to iniquity. When the Publican’s wail went out to the great heart of Love, it won his humble desire. Evil which obtains in the bodily senses, but which the heart condemns, has no foundation; but if evil is uncondemned, it is undenied and nurtured.

SH 142:11-16, 18-20

If the soft palm, upturned to a lordly salary, and architectural skill, making dome and spire tremulous with beauty, turn the poor and the stranger from the gate, they at the same time shut the door on progress. In vain do the manger and the cross tell their story to pride and fustian. . . . As in Jesus’ time, so to-day, tyranny and pride need to be whipped out f the temple, and humility and divine Science to be welcomed in.

SH 8:20-24

Praying for humility with whatever fervency of expression does not always mean a desire for it. If we turn away from the poor, we are not ready to receive the reward of Him who blesses the poor.

SH 183:21

Divine Mind rightly demands man’s entire obedience, affection, and strength. No reservation is made for any lesser loyalty. Obedience to Truth gives man power and strength. Submission to error superinduces loss of power.

SH 2:8-16, 23

God is not moved by the breath of praise to do more than He has already done, nor can the infinite do less than bestow all good, since He is unchanging wisdom and Love. We can do more for ourselves by humble fervent petitions, but the All-loving does not grant them simply on the ground of lip-service, for He already knows all. Prayer cannot change the Science of being, but it tends to bring us into harmony with it.

God is Love. Can we ask Him to be more? God is intelligence. Can we inform the infinite Mind of anything He does not already comprehend? Do we expect to change perfection? Shall we plead for more at the open fount, which is pouring forth more than we accept? The unspoken desire does bring us nearer the source of all existence and blessedness.

SH 3:4

Who would stand before a blackboard, and pray the principle of mathematics to solve the problem? The rule is already established, and it is our task to work out the solution. Shall we ask the divine Principle of all goodness to do His own work? His work is done, and we have only to avail ourselves of God’s rule in order to receive His blessing, which enables us to work out our own salvation.

SH 445:13-26

Teach the meekness and might of life “hid with Christ in God,” and there will be no desire for other healing methods. You render the divine law of healing obscure and void, when you weigh the human in the scale with the divine, or limit in any direction of thought the omnipresence and omnipotence of God.

Christian Science silences human will, quiets fear with Truth and Love, and illustrates the unlabored motion of the divine energy in healing the sick. Self-seeking, envy, passion, pride, hatred, and revenge are cast out by the divine Mind which heals disease. The human will which maketh and worketh a lie, hiding the divine Principle of harmony, is destructive to health, and is the cause of disease rather than its cure.

SH 323:32-4

Willingness to become as a little child and to leave the old for the new, renders thought receptive of the advanced idea. Gladness to leave the false landmarks and joy to see them disappear, — this disposition helps to precipitate the ultimate harmony.

SH 236:23-10

Parents should teach their children at the earliest possible period the truths of health and holiness. Children are more tractable than adults, and learn more readily to love the simple verities that will make them happy and good.

Jesus loved little children because of their freedom from wrong and their receptiveness of right. While age is halting between two opinions or battling with false beliefs, youth makes easy and rapid strides towards Truth.

A little girl, who had occasionally listened to my explanations, badly wounded her finger. She seemed not to notice it. On being questioned about it she answered ingenuously, “There is no sensation in matter.” Bounding off with laughing eyes, she presently added, “Mamma, my finger is not a bit sore.”

It might have been months or years before her parents would have laid aside their drugs, or reached the mental height their little daughter so naturally attained.

SH 582:28-29

Children. The spiritual thoughts and representatives of Life, Truth, and Love.

SH 224:22-27, 29-31

A higher and more practical Christianity, demonstrating justice and meeting the needs of mortals in sickness and in health, stands at the door of this age, knocking for admission. Will you open or close the door upon this angel visitant, who cometh in the quiet of meekness, as he came of old to the patriarch at noonday?

The power of God brings deliverance to the captive. No power can withstand divine Love.

SH 518:15

The rich in spirit help the poor in one grand brotherhood, all having the same Principle, or Father; and blessed is that man who seeth his brother’s need and supplieth it, seeking his own in another’s good. Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality, and goodness, which shine through all as the blossom shines through the bud. All the varied expressions of God reflect health, holiness, immortality — infinite Life, Truth, and Love.

SH 34:13

If all who seek his commemoration through material symbols will take up the cross, heal the sick, cast out evils, and preach Christ, or Truth, to the poor, — the receptive thought, — they will bring in the millennium.

Suffer the children to come to me,

This was the Master’s tender plea;

Gentle and loving, they are mine,

Ah, will not ye who see this sign

Come unto me?

He who receiveth the Word as they,

Teachable, ready to choose my way,

He shall have peace of sin forgiven,

He shall in this wise enter heaven;

Come unto me.

See ye the lilies, how fair they grow,

Clothed in a glory kings ne’er know;

They, like the sparrows, praise the Lord,

Publish my call with clear accord,

Come unto me.

Quiet, Lord, my froward heart,

Make me gentle, pure, and mild,

Upright, simple, free from art;

Make me as a little child,

From distrust and envy free,

Pleased with all that pleaseth Thee.

What Thou shalt today provide

Let me as a child receive,

What tomorrow may betide

Calmly to Thy wisdom leave;

‘Tis enough that Thou wilt care,

Why should I the burden bear?

As a little child relies

On a care beyond its own,

Being neither strong nor wise,

Will not take a step alone,

Let me thus with Thee abide,

As my Father, Friend, and Guide.