First Church of Christ, Scientist, La Cañada Flintridge

Wednesday Meeting Readings

w170830
Wind and rain
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
The Bible    
  1. Ps. 98:4, 7, 8

    4Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

    ... 7Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

    8Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together

  2. Ex. 14:5, 9, 10, 13, 21, 22, 27

    5And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?

    ... 9But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi–hahiroth, before Baal–zephon.

    10And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.

    13And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to-day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

    21And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

    22And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

    27And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

  3. Ps. 98:4, 7, 8

    4Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

    ... 7Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

    8Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together

  4. Gen. 7:11-15 (to ,), 17, 24

    11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

    12And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

    13In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;

    14They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.

    15And they went in unto Noah into the ark,

    ... 17And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

    ... 24And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

  5. Gen. 8:1, 2, 6, 13, 15, 17

    1And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged;

    2The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;

    6And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:

    13And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.

    15And God spake unto Noah, saying,

    ... 17Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

  6. Gen. 9:8, 11-15, 17

    8And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

    ... 11And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

    12And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

    13I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

    14And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

    15And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

    ... 17And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

  7. Deut. 11:13, 14

    13And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

    14That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

  8. Ps. 24:1-4

    1The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

    2For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

    3Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

    4He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

  9. James 5:17, 18

    17Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

    18And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

  10. Ps. 32:2, 6

    2Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

    ... 6For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.

  11. Mark 6:34, 45-51

    34And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.

    ... 45And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.

    46And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.

    47And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.

    48And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.

    49But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:

    50For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.

    51And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.

  12. Luke 6:47-49

    47Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

    48He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

    49But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

  13. Job 38:18, 22, 25, 26

    18Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.

    ... 22Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,

    ... 25Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder;

    26To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;

  14. Job 28:20, 23-28

    20Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?

    ... 23God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.

    24For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven;

    25To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.

    26When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:

    27Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.

    28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.


Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
by Mary Baker Eddy

  1. SH 543:31-7

        The text, “In the day that the Lord God [Jehovah God] made the earth and the heavens,” introduces the 544 544:1record of a material creation which followed the spiritual, — a creation so wholly apart from God’s, that Spirit 3Material inception had no participation in it. In God’s creation ideas became productive, obedient to Mind. There was no rain and “not a man to till the ground.” 6Mind, instead of matter, being the producer, Life was self-sustained.

  2. SH 122:15

    15    The optical focus is another proof of the illusion of material sense. On the eye’s retina, sky and tree-tops Testimony of the sensesapparently join hands, clouds and ocean meet 18and mingle. The barometer, — that little prophet of storm and sunshine, denying the testimony of the senses, — points to fair weather in the midst of murky 21clouds and drenching rain. Experience is full of instances of similar illusions, which every thinker can recall for himself.

  3. SH 257:15-21

    The material senses and human conceptions would translate spiritual ideas into material beliefs, and would say that an anthropomorphic 18God, instead of infinite Principle, — in other words, divine Love, — is the father of the rain, “who hath begotten the drops of dew,” who bringeth “forth Mazzaroth in his sea-21son,” and guideth “Arcturus with his sons.”

  4. SH 67:4, 18

        When the ocean is stirred by a storm, then the clouds lower, the wind shrieks through the tightened shrouds, 6Weathering the stormand the waves lift themselves into mountains. We ask the helmsman: “Do you know your course? Can you steer safely amid the storm?” He 9answers bravely, but even the dauntless seaman is not sure of his safety; nautical science is not equal to the Science of Mind. Yet, acting up to his highest under -12standing, firm at the post of duty, the mariner works on and awaits the issue. Thus should we deport ourselves on the seething ocean of sorrow. Hoping and work -15ing, one should stick to the wreck, until an irresistible propulsion precipitates his doom or sunshine gladdens the troubled sea.

    18    The notion that animal natures can possibly give force to character is too absurd for consideration, when we Spiritual powerremember that through spiritual ascendency 21our Lord and Master healed the sick, raised the dead, and commanded even the winds and waves to obey him. Grace and Truth are potent beyond all other 24means and methods.

  5. SH 209:5-8, 10-11

        Mind, supreme over all its formations and governing 6them all, is the central sun of its own systems of ideas, Allness of Truththe life and light of all its own vast creation; and man is tributary to divine Mind.

        The world would collapse without Mind, without the in-telligence which holds the winds in its grasp.

  6. SH 293:21

    21    There is no vapid fury of mortal mind — expressed in earthquake, wind, wave, lightning, fire, bestial ferocity The counterfeit forces— and this so-called mind is self-destroyed. 24The manifestations of evil, which counterfeit divine justice, are called in the Scriptures, “The anger of the Lord.” In reality, they show the self-destruction 27of error or matter and point to matter’s opposite, the strength and permanency of Spirit. Christian Science brings to light Truth and its supremacy, universal har-30mony, the entireness of God, good, and the nothingness of evil.

  7. SH 184:27

    27    A woman, whom I cured of consumption, always breathed with great difficulty when the wind was from the east. I sat silently by her side a few moments. Her 30breath came gently. The inspirations were deep and nat-ural. I then requested her to look at the weather-vane. She looked and saw that it pointed due east. The wind 185 185:1had not changed, but her thought of it had and so her diffi-culty in breathing had gone. The wind had not produced 3the difficulty. My metaphysical treatment changed the action of her belief on the lungs, and she never suffered again from east winds, but was restored to health.

  8. SH 598:1

    598:1    The Greek word for wind (pneuma) is used also for spirit, as in the passage in John’s Gospel, the third chap-3ter, where we read: “The wind [pneuma] bloweth where it listeth. . . . So is every one that is born of the Spirit [pneuma].” Here the original word is the same in both 6cases, yet it has received different translations, as in other passages in this same chapter and elsewhere in the New Testament. This shows how our Master had constantly 9to employ words of material significance in order to unfold spiritual thoughts. In the record of Jesus’ supposed death, we read: “He bowed his head, and gave up the 12ghost;” but this word ghost is pneuma. It might be trans-lated wind or air, and the phrase is equivalent to our common statement, “He breathed his last.” What 15Jesus gave up was indeed air, an etherealized form of matter, for never did he give up Spirit, or Soul.

  9. SH 581:8 (to .), 11-13

    Ark.9

        God and man coexistent and eternal; Science show-12ing that the spiritual realities of all things are created by Him and exist forever.


From the Christian Science Hymnal 
Hymn 148: “In heavenly Love abiding, No change my heart shall fear”  
Hymn 590: “To God compose a song of joy”
Hymn 93: “Happy the man whose heart can rest, Assured God's goodness  ne'er will cease”