Subject — Substance

1.     God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us;

2.     That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.

5.     Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.

6.     Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.

13.     And I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.

1.     II Kings 25: 30

30     And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.

2.     Psalm 24: 1-5

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

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

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

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

5     He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

3.     Matthew 23: 1 (to Jesus)

1     Then spake Jesus...

4.     Matthew 25: 14-26 (to 2nd,), 28, 29

14     For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

15     And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

16     Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.

17     And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.

18     But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.

19     After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

20     And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

21     His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

22     He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.

23     His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

24     Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

25     And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

26     His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant,

28     Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

29     For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

5.     Malachi 3: 6 (to ;), 7-10

6     For I am the Lord, I change not;

7     Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

8     Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

9     Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

10     Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

6.     Luke 9: 58 (to said)

58     And Jesus said...

7.     Luke 12: 22 (unto his), 23, 29-34

22     ...unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.

23     The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

29     And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.

30     For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.

31     But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

32     Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

33     Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.

34     For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

8.     Luke 6: 38

38     Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

9.     II Corinthians 9: 6 (this)-11

6     ...this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

7     Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

8     And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

9     (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.

10     Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)

11     Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.

1.     468: 17 (Substance)-24

Substance is that which is eternal and incapable of discord and decay. Truth, Life, and Love are substance, as the Scriptures use this word in Hebrews: "The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Spirit, the synonym of Mind, Soul, or God, is the only real substance. The spiritual universe, including individual man, is a compound idea, reflecting the divine substance of Spirit.

2.     288: 27-28

Science reveals the glorious possibilities of immortal man, forever unlimited by the mortal senses.

3.     3: 12-26 (to 2nd.)

The Divine Being must be reflected by man, — else man is not the image and likeness of the patient, tender, and true, the One "altogether lovely;" but to understand God is the work of eternity, and demands absolute consecration of thought, energy, and desire.

How empty are our conceptions of Deity! We admit theoretically that God is good, omnipotent, omnipresent, infinite, and then we try to give information to this infinite Mind. We plead for unmerited pardon and for a liberal outpouring of benefactions. Are we really grateful for the good already received? Then we shall avail ourselves of the blessings we have, and thus be fitted to receive more. Gratitude is much more than a verbal expression of thanks. Action expresses more gratitude than speech.

4.     301: 5-23

Few persons comprehend what Christian Science means by the word reflection. To himself, mortal and material man seems to be substance, but his sense of substance involves error and therefore is material, temporal.

On the other hand, the immortal, spiritual man is really substantial, and reflects the eternal substance, or Spirit, which mortals hope for. He reflects the divine, which constitutes the only real and eternal entity. This reflection seems to mortal sense transcendental, because the spiritual man's substantiality transcends mortal vision and is revealed only through divine Science. As God is substance and man is the divine image and likeness, man should wish for, and in reality has, only the substance of good, the substance of Spirit, not matter. The belief that man has any other substance, or mind, is not spiritual and breaks the First Commandment, Thou shalt have one God, one Mind.

5.     302: 15 (harmonious)-24

...harmonious and immortal man has existed forever, and is always beyond and above the mortal illusion of any life, substance and intelligence as existent in matter. This statement is based on fact, not fable. The Science of being reveals man as perfect, even as the Father is perfect, because the Soul, or Mind, of the spiritual man is God, the divine Principle of all being, and because this real man is governed by Soul instead of sense, by the law of Spirit, not by the so-called laws of matter.

6.     256: 13-16, 28-1

The everlasting I AM is not bounded nor compressed within the narrow limits of physical humanity, nor can He be understood aright through mortal concepts.

A limitless Mind cannot proceed from physical limitations. Finiteness cannot present the idea or the vastness of infinity. A mind originating from a finite or material source must be limited and finite. Infinite Mind is the creator, and creation is the infinite image or idea emanating from this Mind.

7.     257: 4-14, 24-29

If matter, so-called, is substance, then Spirit, matter's unlikeness, must be shadow; and shadow cannot produce substance. The theory that Spirit is not the only substance and creator is pantheistic heterodoxy, which ultimates in sickness, sin, and death; it is the belief in a bodily soul and a material mind, a soul governed by the body and a mind in matter. This belief is shallow pantheism.

Mind creates His own likeness in ideas, and the substance of an idea is very far from being the supposed substance of non-intelligent matter.

Who hath found finite life or love sufficient to meet the demands of human want and woe, — to still the desires, to satisfy the aspirations? Infinite Mind cannot be limited to a finite form, or Mind would lose its infinite character as inexhaustible Love, eternal Life, omnipotent Truth.

8.     258: 3-6, 21-24

Hence the unsatisfied human craving for something better, higher, holier, than is afforded by a material belief in a physical God and man.

The human capacities are enlarged and perfected in proportion as humanity gains the true conception of man and God.

9.     79: 31-3

Giving does not impoverish us in the service of our Maker, neither does withholding enrich us. We have strength in proportion to our apprehension of the truth, and our strength is not lessened by giving utterance to truth.

10.     595: 22 only

Tithe. Contribution; tenth part; homage; gratitude.

11.     494: 10-19

Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need. It is not well to imagine that Jesus demonstrated the divine power to heal only for a select number or for a limited period of time, since to all mankind and in every hour, divine Love supplies all good.

The miracle of grace is no miracle to Love. Jesus demonstrated the inability of corporeality, as well as the infinite ability of Spirit, thus helping erring human sense to flee from its own convictions and seek safety in divine Science.

12.     264: 24-27

Spiritual living and blessedness are the only evidences, by which we can recognize true existence and feel the unspeakable peace which comes from an all-absorbing spiritual love.