Love is true solace and giveth joy for sorrow,—

O, in that light, all earthly loss is gain;

Joy must endure, Love’s giving is forever;

Life is of God, whose radiance cannot wane.

O holy presence, that stills all our demanding,

O love of God, that needs but to be known!

Heaven is at hand, when thy pure touch persuades us,

Comfort of God, that seeks and finds His own.

SH 592:16

Mother. God; divine and eternal Principle; Life, Truth, and Love.

Eccl. 4:1 I

I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

Isa. 66:13

Thus saith the Lord, As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem

Jer. 31:15-17, 13

A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. . . . I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

Matt. 2:1-5, 8, 12-13, 16-20

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. . . . And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. . . . Then Herod . . . was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.

Matt 5:4

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Isa. 66:12 thus, 13

Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem

Deut. 32:11, 12

As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.

Hab. 1:13 (to :)

Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:

Isa. 49:13-16 (to ;)

Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands;

Is. 54:11, 13-14, 17

O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. … And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

Isa. 51:4-5, 12

Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people. My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth,

I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;

Isa. 61:1-3

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.

Jer. 30:17 (to ;)

For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord;

Matt. 9:18-25 behold

Behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.

And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.

Isa. 40:1, 6, 8, 11. 26

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. . . .. All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: . .. .. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

. . . He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. . . . . for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

John 14:9, 12, 15-17

Jesus saith . . . If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

II Cor. 1:3, 4

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

SH 16:7-8, 24-27

Our Master taught his disciples one brief prayer, which we name after him the Lord’s Prayer.

Here let me give what I understand to be the spiritual sense of the Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father which art in heaven,

SH 517:10

In divine Science, we have not as much authority for considering God masculine, as we have for considering Him feminine, for Love imparts the clearest idea of Deity.

SH 60:8

A mother’s affection cannot be weaned from her child, because the mother-love includes purity and constancy, both of which are immortal. Therefore maternal affection lives on under whatever difficulties.

SH 507:3-6

Spirit duly feeds and clothes every object, as it appears in the line of spiritual creation, thus tenderly expressing the fatherhood and motherhood of God.

SH 514:18-19

Tenderness accompanies all the might imparted by Spirit.

SH 512:8-13

Spirit is symbolized by strength, presence, and power, and also by holy thoughts, winged with Love. These angels of His presence, which have the holiest charge, abound in the spiritual atmosphere of Mind, and consequently reproduce their own characteristics.

SH 567:1-8, 12

Gabriel has the more quiet task of imparting a sense of the ever-presence of ministering Love. These angels deliver us from the depths. Truth and Love come nearer in the hour of woe, when strong faith or spiritual strength wrestles and prevails through the understanding of God. The Gabriel of His presence has no contests. To infinite, ever-present Love, all is Love, and there is no error, no sin, sickness, nor death. Thus endeth the conflict between the flesh and Spirit.

SH 78:28

Spirit blesses man, but man cannot “tell whence it cometh.” By it the sick are healed, the sorrowing are comforted, and the sinning are reformed. These are the effects of one universal God, the invisible good dwelling in eternal Science.

SH 271:20

Our Master said, “But the Comforter . . . shall teach you all things.” When the Science of Christianity appears, it will lead you into all truth.

SH 113:5-6

The vital part, the heart and soul of Christian Science, is Love.

SH 147:24

Our Master healed the sick, practised Christian healing, and taught the generalities of its divine Principle to his students; but he left no definite rule for demonstrating this Principle of healing and preventing disease. This rule remained to be discovered in Christian Science. A pure affection takes form in goodness, but Science alone reveals the divine Principle of goodness and demonstrates its rules.

SH 482:19-20

Jesus was the highest human concept of the perfect man.

SH 332:26-32

Mary’s conception of him was spiritual, for only purity could reflect Truth and Love, which were plainly incarnate in the good and pure Christ Jesus. He expressed the highest type of divinity, which a fleshly form could express in that age. Into the real and ideal man the fleshly element cannot enter.

SH 572:8

In Science we are children of God; but whatever is of material sense, or mortal, belongs not to His children, for materiality is the inverted image of spirituality.

SH 475:28-31

Man is incapable of sin, sickness, and death. The real man cannot depart from holiness, nor can God, by whom man is evolved, engender the capacity or freedom to sin.

SH 477:4-5

Thus Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is intact, universal, and that man is pure and holy.

SH 562:3-7

As Elias presented the idea of the fatherhood of God, which Jesus afterwards manifested, so the Revelator completed this figure with woman, typifying the spiritual idea of God’s motherhood.

SH 63:5-6

In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beautiful, good, and pure constitute his ancestry.

SH 582:28-29

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

SH 691:17-2; 692:15-21; 693:3

A HELPFUL TESTIMONY

Words cannot express my gratitude to God for Christian Science. When I first read Science and Health, I had tried every remedy I had ever heard of. I felt no change in mind or body that I was conscious of until I read page 16 of the chapter on “Prayer,” in Science and Health. The first words of the “spiritual sense of the Lord’s Prayer,” telling of our Father-Mother God, gave me a glimpse of heavenly light. I stopped and reasoned, and remembered the teachings of Jesus. The truth of man’s spiritual being dawned on my consciousness. I realized I was not subject to mortal laws, as I had been taught all my life. I could not explain how I knew this, but I knew it. Through Christian Science, Mrs. Eddy had given me what I had longed for all my life, — a Mother, a perfect “Father-Mother God.”

I did not need treatment from any one, — Science and Health was so clear and beautiful. I could not understand the Bible before, but I found it illumined now that I had a little understanding of Christian Science. For ten years I have not had to lie down in the daytime from any sickness. I am now, and have been all these years, the picture of perfect health. . . . . When I think what my life was before I had Christian Science, of the six years of colds, suffering, and coughing, not to mention the unhappiness, I want to “work, watch, and pray” for the Mind of Christ, that I may work rightly in God’s vineyard, and to know that in truth, what belongs to one belongs to all, — that one God, one Life, Truth, and Love is all.  — A. C. L., Kansas City, Kans.

SH 322:26-31

The sharp experiences of belief in the supposititious life of matter, as well as our disappointments and ceaseless woes, turn us like tired children to the arms of divine Love. Then we begin to learn Life in divine Science. Without this process of weaning, “Canst thou by searching find out God?”

SH 62:22

The divine Mind, which forms the bud and blossom, will care for the human body, even as it clothes the lily; but let no mortal interfere with God’s government by thrusting in the laws of erring, human concepts.

SH 239:16-20

To ascertain our progress, we must learn where our affections are placed and whom we acknowledge and obey as God. If divine Love is becoming nearer, dearer, and more real to us, matter is then submitting to Spirit.

SH 578:10, 16

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for [love] is with me; [love’s] rod and [love’s] staff they comfort me.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness] of [love] for ever.

Every prayer to Him is answered,

Prayer confiding in His will;

Blessedness and joy are near thee,

Hear His gentle Peace, be still.

Hear His voice above the tempest:

I have not forsaken thee;

In My hand thy name is graven,

I will save both thine and thee.

O Light, in Thy light we can see

That man is ever one with Thee.

In love our lives Thou dost enfold,

And now our waiting hopes behold

That man is God’s own child.

O joy that ever will remain,

Midst seeming sorrow, hate, and pain,

Our hearts to fill with this glad song

That soars above the mists of wrong:

Man is the loved of Love.