Arizona republican., 1919-01-13
1Christian science Monitor)

Christian Science MonitOr)
 SOnGs of praise and gladness are about the last expression man feels inclined to indulge in, when he is op- pressed by material evidences Of dlscord and suffering; and he would doubtless resist the intimation that at least one reason why his sense of affliction per sists is because he Is not in the haplt of praising God. One usually praises what he understands and loves. Songs ol praise then. if based upon spiritual perception, indicate a realization oI Truth, which operates, in the joyous consciousness, as a certain protection and deliverance from evil beliefs.'
 The Scriptures definitely teach that d man must choose whether he shall serve God with gladness and eXper- ence. or whether, if he turns from spirit to material sense, he shall reap the fruit of his materialiSm. One Of the characteristics of spiritual service is gladness of heart, for the very rec ognition that God is omnipOtent and ever beneficient is the most joyous knowledge human being can possess. Joyous service is indeed true spiritual service, for anything less than Joy would indicate the presence Of false belief, which would dispute the abun- dance of good, and would be equlNa- lent 10 disobedience to Principle and would surely appear in discordant et- fleets. Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with eladness ofoheart, for the abundance of all things; therefore" as Moses pointed out shalt thou serve thine enemies in hunger, and thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things.
 Now, if the necessity of choosing be- tween good and evil realities were im- posed by an omnipotent Father upon human beings, uuillumined and ignOr- 'ant ot spiritual things, as they ire quently are, it would seem an unescap- able injustice; but God provides for nothing but good. There is, in the in- finite reality of being, no choice to be made between good and evil, for evil does not exist. Choice is an experience of the finite human mind alone, and appears necessary only by reason of an illusion which has deceived mortals. This illusion must eventually disappear because of it's unreality, and the actu- ality of unchangins good is then re- vealed. Just so long as this deception obtains in belief, however, human ef- fort will be necessary to dispel the il-
 
 assertion of spiritual sense, which rec ognizes and rejoices in the infinite har- mony of being. Mrs. Eddy refers to the reason for human struggle and to the divine method of warfare when, on page 565 of Science and Health, she writes "After the stars sang together and al was primeval harmony, the materla lie made war upon the spiritual idea; but this only impclled the idea to rise 10 the zenith of demonstration, destroy ing sin, sickness, and death, and to bt caught up unto God,-to be found in its divine Principle
 Only spiritual sense can sing the vic torious songs of understanding. This fact should not deter, but rather en- courage, a man to endeavor to sing his way out of illusiye belief knowing that, if spiritual sense is singing in his consciousness, material sense is pro- portiOnatcly losing it's power to deceive 1t is suffering material sense Whicf asks, as did the Jews in captivity, wher their captors cynically required O1 them one of the songs of Zion, How shall we sing the Lords song in g strange land?' Well, one cannot; but harmony, reality, is neither represented nor excluded by material place or con- ditiOn. Harmony is a state of con- sciousness in which joy is permanent and love supreme. The determination then, to sing the allness of God in spite of material appearance, is an activity of spiritual sense, which has the effec of dissolving the mesmerism of evil bt lief and delivering a man from his sense of captivity. Songs of praise dc not. of course. change or influence i'm mutable principle. Their value lies il .1,,t, man consciousness, bringing it into concord with principle. "God is no moved by the breath of praise Mrs Eddy writes on page of Science ant Health, Ito do more than He has al ready done. nor can the infinite do les than bestow all good, since He is un changing wisdom and love-"
 The scriptures are filled with record of the triumph of rejoicing over ma lerial fears. Jehoshaphat, when he wa threatened by overwhelming armies 0 the enemy, appointed singers unto tn Lord and that should praise the beaut of holiness, as they went out before tn army, and to say, Praise the Lord; fo his mercy endureth forever. And whe they began to sing and to praise,' tn enemy, it is recorded, smote one an other and were self destroyed. Pat and Silas realized the .liberating powe of spiritual song when, in prison, a midnight, they uttered their thanksgiv ing for the supremacy and abundano of good, and demonstrated the impc tence of the material lie which mad war upon the spiritual idea. Jesus tf Christ, the way-shower for mankin made his choice between the real an the unreal incisive and final. It is writ ten of him, Thou hast loved righteous ness and hated iniquity: therefore GC even thy God, hath anointed thee wit the oil of gladness above thy fellows His abundant gladness arose from Il fact that he had excellcd in doing wh; Mrs. Eddy descrtes when she write 'Denal of the. claims of matter is