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Show CONQUEST OF DANGER AND FEAR, TOPIC OF ADDRESS TO SERVICEMEN "Go Forth to Live, Men in Uniform" ' Admonishes Speaker At Institute Service Sunday February 13, 1943 "Go Forth to Live, Men in Uniform," was the title of the inspiring message of divine protection as soldiers of the cross delivered at the non-denominational chapel service ser-vice for members of the Naval Training Station and their wives and friends at the L. D. S. Institute recently by Professor F. M. Coe, First Reader of the Logan Christian t Science Society and volunteer Christian Science wartime worker for the unit. This address was also given by special request of the commanding command-ing officer to the graduating members of Company Nine, Friday evening in the institute chapel. Because this address contains the inspired scriptural message of divine protection in times of danger and points out how service ser-vice men and their relatives can utilize the protecting power of God to come safely and victoriously victori-ously through the battles at home and abroad, the Cache American reprints this address in full as a patriotic service to its readers, and hopes that every service man and every wife and parent of a man in our country's service will read and ponto its message, so that our boys may come safely through the war and return again to their homes in Cache Valley. Editor. "GO FORTH TO LIVE, MEN IN UNIFORM" By FRANCIS M. COE My friends. King David, the in-spirted in-spirted Psalmist,, declared (Psalm 46:1): "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." But in order to avail ourselves of God as an "ever-present "ever-present help in trouble," we must understand Him as He is, all powerful and everpresent, that we may possess sufficient faith to PROVE His protecting and saving sav-ing power. Let us then consider for a few ' moments he natvre of God, that we may love and worship Him un-I; un-I; derstandingly, and bring His healing, heal-ing, guiding, and protecting presence pres-ence into our own experience. Inspired scriptural writers have revealed God as omnipotent and omnipresent Spirit. In Psalm 139 David sang, "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell In the uttermost utter-most parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." Our Master, Christ Jesus, like-- like-- wise emphasized the necessity of I understanding God as all pervasive perva-sive Spirit. In his conversation , with the woman of Samaria at Jacob's well as related in the 4th chapter of the Gospel of John (John 4:23), our Master, Christ Jesus, told the woman, "the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship wor-ship him." And then he declared: declar-ed: (John 4:24), "God is a Spirit: Spir-it: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." The Prophet Jeremiah shows the university of God's presence when he writes (Jer. 2324), "Am I a God at hand and not a God a far off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see "im? Saith the Lord. Do not I Hi heaven and earth? Saith the Lord." ( In Isaiah likewise, we read, ' "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear." And again, the Promise, "Fear thou not; for I a'n with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen strength-en thee; yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness . . . Ior I the Lord thy God will hold right hand, saying unto thee, F)r not; I will help thee . . . fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I "aVe called thee by thy name; thou are mine. When thou passest "ttough the water, I will be with ee; and through, the rivers, they j shall not overflow thee; when u walkest through the fire, u Shalt not be burned; neither fj1211 the flame kindle upon thoe." Moses proved the power of God deliver, when he rebuked the pairing thought of the Israelis, Israel-is, hemmed in between the Red and the pursuing Egyptian nost, with these words: "Fear ye stand still, and see the sal-I sal-I vatn of the Lord which he shall show you today; for the Egyptians Egypt-ians whom we have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace." In this hour of peril, when deliverance seemed humanly impossible, im-possible, Moses turned wholeheartedly whole-heartedly to God for guidance. The divine reply oame to his uplifted up-lifted consciousness, an answer described as one of the mightiest calls to action in all history: "Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel, Is-rael, that they go forward!" In faithful obedience, Moses and his men went forward. Thus they were led safely through the Red Sea symbolically defined as the dark ebbing and flowing tides of human fear on dry land. As with all dictators who seek to enslave free men with ruthless material power, the returning tides of this Red Sea of fear overwhelmed Pharaoh and his great host, with their thousands of horsemen and chariots, as they tried ainly to flee to safety. Similai-ly, in the Book of II Kings, it is related (II Kings 6:15) how the servant of Elisha rose up early to find the city compassed with a great host of enemy Syrian Syr-ian chariots and horsemen. To the despairing cry of his servant, Elisha replied, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them." The scriptural account continued, And El'sha prayed, and said, "Lord I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man: and he saw; and beheld, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." Eli-sha." Afterwards, the Syrians were struck' temporarily blind and Elisha led them to the King of Israel, eager to smite them. But Elisha rebuked him, and caused the King to feed them and let them return to their master. This account of the saving power of divine Love concluded with the significant statement, "So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel." Another aspect of God whjch is equally important for all to understand un-derstand is set forth in the inspired in-spired declaration of John (I John 4:8) 'God is Love." John repeated repeat-ed this statement in a verse I which follows the first, "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is Love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." Then followed that remarkable re-markable statement so helpful in conquering" fear, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear." The much loved 23rd Psalm portrays por-trays God as the loving Shepherd of mankind, always protecting, guiding, and providing for his flock. A recent writer in the Christian Science Monitor, inspired in-spired by this great psalm, began his article with a quotation from it as follows: "The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. wat-ers. He restore th my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness. right-eousness. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow 1 of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me." The article continues, "So long as men read the twenty-third Psalm, of which the above words are a part, and willingly receive its message oi love and healing, they will, ir some measure, know the calm comfort, and security of beinj divinely led." "History shows that those wh have achieved lasting good fo humanity in advancing a true concept of freedom and a bet ter way of life, have relied oi divine guidance and acknowledg ed God, good, as supreme. Lovi for God and man is essential t true freedom. Abraham Lincol: expressed this auality of lead-ership lead-ership when he said, "With mal ice toward none; with charitj for all, with firmness in th. right, as God gives us to se (Continued on page Eight) ' we SCCAp CUT, MONTH v jj - ., ) , ' 3Jj f. - . - FVom the Hudson DUpalch, Union Gt,Kl Conquest of Danger and Fear (Continued from page One) the right, let us strive ... to d' all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace mnoun ourselves and with all na-, LIOIIS.'' And the words and work of the t -reat Emancipator will never cease to Inspire all who seek freedom and the exercise of human hu-man rights:. "How may we be sure that Love is our shepherd, so that we may understanding "He lead-cth lead-cth me'."' When we are turning turn-ing away f.-orn sin to holiness; when we are forsaking pride, envy, cruelty, vengeance, condemnation con-demnation of our fellowmen, fur more love of God and man, riore truthfulness, humility, integrity, in-tegrity, honesty, and a greater desire to do the will of our heavenly heav-enly Father then we may know that divine Love is leading, and lhai we are drawing near the ' green pastures," "the still waters," wat-ers," "the paths of righteousness," righteous-ness," where our spiritual sense is restored. 1 ivine Love, our shepherd, forever leads. It is our part, our activity, to follow Him. Love leads us away from negative thinking, which is always finding something wrong, to the realization realiza-tion of positive, good; away from impurity, disease, danger, and the fear of death, to safety. Love leads us to do good deeds, for Love is the abundance of good. And Love leads us to entertain lielpful, uplifting thoughts to-war to-war all mankind, especially toward to-ward those whom we meet in our daily lives. "Omnipresent Love is the only power, the only presence, the only deliverer." In conclusion, he adds: "The Biblical assurances are not for some dim past or some uncertain future. They are for today. Therefore encouragement may be found in the promise of God, voiced by Isaiah (49:10), "'They shall not hunger nor thirst ... for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them." The third great aspect or nature of God which must be understood and demonstrated is LIFE. Our master, Christ Jesus, said (John 10:10), "I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly," also, "He that believeth on me hath everlasting life." In the same gospel, (John 5:26) Jesus concerned for your safety, and the safety of the splendid men who have gone before you, be-cause be-cause of the pessimistic and fatalistic fa-talistic attitude expressed by many of you toward your own personal safety in fighting this war, and because so many of you have shown so little interest in gaining a knowledge of the great truths about God and man that constitute the "armor of God'' that can shield you and protect you in the battles to come. I have even heard men say they did not expect to come back. I have even heard statistics statis-tics quoted by officers and accepted ac-cepted by the men here as the truth about their chances of coming com-ing back. O, my friends! What a tragic mistake it is to believe that our lives depend on chance, and to forget that God governs the universe, including man, and is indeed able to bring you back safely, if you will only realize this great fact! The scriptures plainly declare that almighty God is our life, that we eternally coexist with Him. It is our privilege to prove here and now that we are not mortal but immortal sons of God. The Psalmist sang in the Ninety First Psalm, "A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall NOT COME NIGH THEE. But to avail ourselves of divine protection, we must accept ac-cept the promises of the scriptures, scrip-tures, understand the divine nature, na-ture, and claim for ourselves our God-given dominion over every form of evil as the blessed Son of God. We must, with John, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; Beloved, now' are we the sons of God . . . God hath given us eternal life, and this1 life is in- his Son . . . These! things have I written unto you I that believe . . . that ye may! know that ye have eternal life." You may well ask, "How can' we pray effectively and realize this divine protection, and prove it in our own experience, when so- many have failed before us? Peter V. Ross has answered this important question so well in an editorial in the Christian Science Sentinel for January 30, entitled "Go Forth to Live, Men in Uniform," Uni-form," from which I have drawn the title of my address, that I shall quote part of his article in answer to your question: "Those nations which glorify God and continue their valiant I fully and understanding-. Whether Wheth-er at the fireside or in transit, at ! the production front or on the battle front, men and womm of j the assailed nations are under divine protection, and can trust1 to the unfailing care of the Su-1 preme Being. They have a right to safety, adequate and continu-1 ous. Why should they not survive j to fulfill that grand destiny God ' has for them? "I'rinciple is always, everywhere and unfailingly operative in their j behalf. "The Lord God omnipot-! ent reigneth" is the assurance of! the Scripture. He who invokes these truths and relies upon them . . . puts himself under thel shadow of the Almighty, where j danger never lurks. Nothing is i impossible to God. No, not even safety for the soldier in the heat of battle. ."Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, Even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, Neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways. Psalms 91 "Responding to his patriotic duty, the man in uniform may console himself with the thought "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." But rising above the human sense of life he will fortify himself with the assurance as-surance that higher purpose has no man than this, that a man go forth to live for his friends, his country, and his God. "This is precisely what every person in the services can do today. He can go forth to live in a larger, a finer, a more productive pro-ductive way than he has lived before, and God's presence goes with him to shield and protect. This is what he can say, recognize, recog-nize, and pray. This is what the folks at home can say, recognize, and pray. In the strength of that perfect prayer he will go forth to live in a measure he has never lived before. And those left behind will go forward in their endeavors in a measure they have not ' known before. "God is man's life. Therefore, I every morning and every liour should everything avow, 'I am going go-ing forth to really live.' Some perhaps have not half lived thus far, but the opportunity is still before each one of us to taste spiritual life in its fulness. And the times demand that we do so. freedom for the rights and dignity dig-nity of mankind against the enslaving savagery of pagan aggression ag-gression SOLDIERS OF THE CROSS, GO FORTH TO LIVE MY FRIENDS! GO FORTH TO VICTORY! VIC-TORY! Victory, not alone against the evil axis nations, but victory over SIN, DISEASE, and DEATH! In the inspired words of Isaiah (43.5,6) "FEAR NOT, FOR I AM ' WITH THEE: I WILL BRING THY SEED FROM THE EAST, AND GATHER THEE FROM THE WEST; I WILL SAY TO THE NORTH GIVE UP; I TO THE SOUTH, KEEP NOT ! BACK; BRING MY SONS FROM FAR AND MY DAUGHTERS FROM THE ENDS OF THE EARTH!" i The eternal God is the refuge of the nation or individual who chooses to walk vigilantly and uprightly. "That man, at the front, will say with the Psalmist: "The Lord is on my side; ,1 will not fear; what can man do unto me? . . . I shall not die, but live, and declare de-clare the works of the Lord'. "Discerning soldiers in a righteous right-eous cause, confronted by acute danger, put their trust in unfailing un-failing Principle. They draw upon the limitless resources of divine di-vine Mind. They come into the recognition of true selfhood as spiritual men, untouched by the devices of war. IT IS GOD'S WILL THAT THEY GO FORTH TO LIVE." And so, my friends, in closing let me admonish you, as SOLDIERS SOLD-IERS OF GOD, defending the right and fighting the battle of ijuulcu as saying, - r or as tne Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself," and he proved that God is Life, when he rose again after his cruel crucifixion and reappeared to his disciples not once but many times, i The Apostle Paul in his message, to the Romans pointed out the significance sig-nificance of the Master's victory over death to all of us, when be wrote (Romans 6;23) "But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Now the question arises, "What has all this to do with me?" My reply is this: I have been gravely warfare against evil will come out of this greatest of conflicts seasoned for praiseworthy activity. activ-ity. And the men who go out in uniform should expect to continue con-tinue in inviting careers. They should expect to live, not merely mere-ly as heroes on the pages of history, his-tory, but to live visibly among their fellows as before, except in statelier stature. "Today they g0 forth to live-not live-not to be victimized by chance, climate, tyranny or sword. This fact, that imperishable Life is their portion, they must acknowledge. acknowl-edge. Those at home must reiter-i reiter-i ate that acknowledgment, grate- |
