The prophet saith: "For unto us a child is born"Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. .(Is.9:6.)

First we will consider what gave this declaration its especial significance. 2nd. What was the star seen in the east that went before till it came and stood over where the young child lay.

Millions of children were born before the babe of Bethlehem, but they were not heralded by angels or tokens in the heavens. History furnishes the fact that the meek Nazarene was the most conspicuous character that ever trod the globe.

Unlearned. Uneducated, he put to flight the arrogant Rabbis, overthrew the proudest systems of philosophy ancient and modern; warrior, king and philosopher went down before him, and his teachings and demonstrations are destined to take christianity back to its primitive definitions. But turn we from the material to the spiritual history of the babe, whose infant wailings "blent with the bleating of the goat and lowing of the kine"I Sam 15:14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? , briefly to examine that history before the hour of its gloom and glory. Well might IsaihCorrected:Isaiah sing, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called "Wonderful, CounsellorCorrected:counselor, the might God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace"Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. .

That Hebrew melodist discerned just cause for clapping hands when a mighty Truth welling up from the Infinite, presented itself to mortal sense, and that sense kissed it and called it a babe. And did not that wise seer forcastCorrected:forecast the destiny of Truth when he said "the government shall be upon its shoulders"Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. , that it shall be found a marvelous guide, an Omnipotent power, an unperishable Principle. But remember the Hebrew bard in his grand epic referred not to the little bundle of flesh, phosphatCorrected:phosphate, and linen lying in a crib, but to the advent of the spiritual idea that accompanied it, brought, even that Life is evolved of Spirit, and man begotten of this Principle of all being. That a perfect Mind evolves a perfect man and idea of God, and that Mind never starts or results materially. That Soul is not in body, for Deity never blends with matter, and Spirit is untouched by evil passions and mortality. Retaining his conscious spiritual existence and entity, the mind of Jesus could work in its native domain of mind. Hence the control that he exercised over matter, or material beliefs, even the error called mortal man. The life of Jesus was identical with Truth and Love, the Life that is God.

He demonstrated Spirit free from the fetters of matter, Love unselfish and universal, the healing power of Truth, and Life immortal, Soul the Substance of man, and body the idea of Soul.

He separated a material from a Spiritual sense of things, established the reality and continuance of all things spiritual, and the nothingness of material things. To him matter was shadow, and spirit substance; the permanent and eternal side of things were the thoughts that formed them - named them, announced it his theInserted by: Mary Baker Eddy idea, instead of material substance Of a verity we must be born again to understand the Metaphysics of our Master, and born of the Spirit, and not of the flesh. -- Great epochs begin with the birth of new ideas. As our idea of God grows more impersonal we shall love Truth only for Truth's sake, and this will imbues us with a more divine and less human affection and purpose, and this proper spiritual conception will gives birth to a higher individuality, theInserted by: Mary Baker Eddy babe in Christ born meekly because of its surroundings, itsInserted by: Mary Baker Eddy worldliness, sin and self.

When Columbus gave birth to his thoughts of a globe, when Thomas Jefferson uttered an impregnable truth principle and when another individual declared the supremacy of Spirit, its power to heal the sick and destroy all error, the fortunes of the race gradually turned into a higher channel by the mild pressure of Truth. It is the great conceptions of meek and noiseless birth, and not the tumultuous effervescence that change the existing state of things and gently force man onward.

The silent light, drawing artists pictures, cheering the cot, gilding the palace, gleaming thro' the lattice, glinting upon the church dome, glancing into the dungeon, gliding into the sick room, brightening the flowers, beautifying the landscape, blessing the world, is not egotistical, but the loud whirlwind, 'a sign and product of disunion and weakness, which passes on and is forgotten. The most notable period of the ages was that when a GallileanCorrected:Galilean peasant uttered by the wayside and in humble homes, to artless listeners, to dull disciples, and to wondering ears, his simple sense of Truth, telling them it healed the sick, reformed the sinner, and despoiled the grave of its victory. He trusted his words to the providence of God, and in no fact seems the man of Galilee greater than in his serene sense of the immortality of what he uttered and demonstrated. Said he, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away"Matt 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Mark 13:31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. . What a calm confidence was that in the superior permanence of Mind over matter!

That most excellent man, Starr KingEditorial Note: Thomas Starr King (1824-1864) was a prominent Unitarian/Universalist minister who took a strong stand for the Union during the Civil War., wrote, "if we study life aright we shall never sneer at abstractions as visionary or unreal, if they are false they are unsubstantial as the corruscationsCorrected:coruscations in the northern sky, but if true they are permanent, impregnable as Principle, resistless as right"Editorial Note: From Patriotism, and Other Papers by Thomas Starr King, page 178 (Boston: Thompkins and Company, 1864)..

In Mary's meek conception of the man that God produces, the Judean shepherds saw the Immanuel, and the virgin mother saw her own son; but the vision of Mary rose above the maternal instinct giving place to prophecy when mutely she pondered his earthly fate. Conscious of the power of Truth, and the supremacy of Spirit over matter, and aware that her son was the idea and representative of this divine Science, Mary said to him at the marriage feast, "they have no wine"John 2:3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. , and he replied "woman" (how significant that word,) "mine hour is not yet come"John 2:4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. . Modest of his spiritual understanding, Jesus had not then full confidence in his power to illustrate the great fact of Spirit's supremacy, but his mother, having had proof of this in the immaculate conception, urged the ehibitionCorrected:exhibition of her son -- she would have him demonstrate mind creative, causal, and able to present the form and character of a thought tangibly to the senses, so she said unto the servants "whatsoever he saith unto you do it"John 2:5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. . Then Jesus turned the water into wineJohn 2:7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. John 2:8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. John 2:9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, , but remember the senses alone saw the wine. Soul never made wine, but it christened all things thoughts, that can be changed through inspiration, not intoxication.

The guests at Galilee knew that mind not matter made their wine, and they should have known that the object before their senses was only a thought presented to their thought, that they called wine, for the master of Metaphysics could only give to marriage the inspiration of soul, not sense. The spiritual origin of Jesus conferred upon him above all others the a clear understanding of the Omnipotence of Mind, the nothingness of matter and the undivided realm and reign of Spirit.

The Scriptures declare that the simple demonstration at the marriage "manifested forth his glory, and his disciples believed on him"John 2:11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. .

But would it be said of christianity today predicated on such proof that it manifests forth His glory? Ah! No, not until the divine Principle and Science of this transforming power is apprehended can it present the proof of divine power. The same Principle which turned the belief of water into a belief of wine, reveals the great Metaphysical fact that all is Mind, and matter is one of its beliefs, constantly changing and passing away until there is "no more sea"Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. as in the vision of the Revelator. The same divine Principle changed the rushing current of blood to a milder flow when he said to the sick of fever "rise and walk"Mark 1:30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. Mark 1:31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. Luke 4:38 ¶And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. And Simon’s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her. Luke 4:39 And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them. Matt 8:14 ¶And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. Matt 8:15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. Editorial Note: Jesus healed Peter's mother of a fever but none of the three accounts of this healing in the Bible records his words to her. Mary Baker Eddy may be referencing this healing while using words that Jesus spoke at other healings., and the same Principle that destroys sickness destroys all error, sin and death. Jesus atoned for sickness and death as much as for sin, for the Truth he demonstrated overcomes them all, and his sufferings arose from the world's hatred of that Truth.

The all-engrossing care for our bodies, the all-absorbing selfishness and sensualism entrenched within every form of society, betrays the greatest ignorance of what constitutes happiness, and the actual of being. The erring thought called mortal mind has little faith in the might of Immortal Mind, unerring Intelligence; wrong has no faith in right because it can never be right, so we should weary of that self which never fulfils the destiny of man; and should love with the whole affections the moral power that values life only for its uses and spurns the abuse of being. Remember it was the holy aim, and pure thoughts that made things perfect, which laid the foundations in the mind of his mother, that outlined the character of Jesus.

The motives and results of such a mind are crowned by birthright, they bless involuntarily, individually and universally; they have not the power to harm, but to help mankind. Animated by a spiritual and divine sense of being and its high behest, Jesus overcame the world. The purity of his origin reproduced itself in the aims, the achievements and affections of the man; in him Divine Science had a fit representative, and philosophy had to admit that the power of man is immortal mind, not matter, and that animal force, serpentine art, sagacity misguided, can never contribute to success in Science.

They are a shame to man, they belie his words, belittle his deeds, and betray their origin.

Law can never render the animal propensities fit progenitors of the human or the Divine.

Man begotten of Spirit reflects God, and the higher qualities, instincts and possibilities of Mind are "born of Spirit and not of the flesh"John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. .

In the original texts the word son implied a variety of decents, the child a year old was termed the son of a year, etc. In the Hebrew sense parentage human or Divine was not determined by the word son. Jesus was a man and God was his Father in the same sense that he is ours and the Principle of real being.

The great difference between the Nazarene and a NeroEditorial Note: Nero was emperor of Rome from 54 to 68 B.C. His rule is often associate with tyranny and extravagence and he is known to have executed his mother and stepbrother and many others. obtained in their mothers; the bloody emperor's type of sin and sensualism and the meek Master's type of purity and Truth were transmitted by their parents. It was the parents of Nero who constituted him, and out of their own qualities of thought, which presented a monster rather than a man; the one earthly parent of Jesus, (for he had but one,) engraved upon her son the impress of her thoughts, allied to God the father of all goodness and blessedness. From the parable of the husbandmanMatt 21:33 ¶Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: Matt 21:34 And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. Matt 21:35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Matt 21:36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. Matt 21:37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. Matt 21:38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. Matt 21:39 And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. Matt 21:40 When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? Matt 21:41 They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Matt 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Matt 21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. Matt 21:44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. we learn how the age receives a new idea, saying "this is the heir, come let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours"Matt 21:38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. Mark 12:7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. Luke 20:14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. .

Some individuals in all ages have tried to stop the advancing footsteps they are unwilling to follow; they would hold perpetual guard at the threshold of history to keep back the angel visitant not having on an old-time garment. And to abate their moral power they would even rob the character of the reformer who beareth the glad tidings which shall be to all people, shall uproot all clans, dynasties, civil and religious despotisms. If the Spiritual tendency of the Metaphysics of Jesus is found reproving materialism and personal gods (as it certainly is,) it must have enemies that will deny its divinity, and assail its exponent.

The highest moralist on the globe cannot excapeCorrected:escape this. But they do it only to silence the glorious influence and stop the march of a new idea.

The thunders of Sinai never uttered their voices that a medical censorEditorial Note: This is likely referring to medical boards, which some states were beginning to use to determine who could practice medicine in the state and to license physicians. shall decide what are the exact rights of a man to benefit his race. Must it be said that in these United States, where the statue of Lincoln layeth its hand in benediction on the oppressed, that laws have been enacted in a majority of the states, prohibiting any other healing practice than Materia Medica!Editorial Note: In the 1870s, a number of states enacted some form of medical licensure laws to limit the practice of medicine to physicians licensed by a state board. Eddy is likely referring to those laws in relation to their impact on the practice of Christian Science. But civil or religious despotism can never annul the divine decree. "And these signs shall follow them that believe, they shall lay their hands on the sick and they shall recover"Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; .

Human law can not forever trample on the rights of man. God hath said it and it echoes along the corridors of time that Truth shall redeem the earth from the curse of error; and that materia medica is not Truth we know from experience. Dr. James JohnsonEditorial Note: James Johnson (1777-1845) was an expert on tropical diseases and author of medical textbooks. He was appointed surgeon extraordinary to King William IV of England. of London surgeon extraordinary to the King says if there was not a single physician, surgeon, apothecary man -- midwife, chemist, or druggist, there would be less sickness and less mortality. Sir John ForbesEditorial Note: Sir John Forbes (1787-1861) was a prominent physician, born in Scotland. He was physician to Queen Victoria. F.R.C. London, says -- no therapeutic agents ever yet promulgated is true or can be adopted as a safe guideance in practice. Dr. Benj. WaterhouseEditorial Note: Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse (1754-1846) was a physician and professor of Medicine at Harvard University. He was the first doctor in the United States to test the smallpox vaccine., professor in Harvard University, says, "I am sick of learned quackery." Dr. Oliver W. HolmesEditorial Note: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894) was a physician and poet. His son, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was a justice of the United States Supreme Court. says, "If the whole Materia Medica could be sunk to the bottom of the sea it would be all the better for mankind, and worse for the fishes."

Human law, that we have seen capable of almost every injustice may for a short period longer hedge about and support the speculative myth called "Materia Medica", that originated with Pagan priests and heathen deities, but the four thousand years of history of medicine is drawing to a close and when it is finally buried in oblivion mankind will be emancipated from one of the most abject slaveries that ever infested the globe. The legislative acts of some of the states appointing censorsEditorial Note: This is likely referring to medical boards, which some states were beginning to use to determine who could practice medicine in the state and to license physicians. who require one man to give medicine, and another to take it, pinning a man[*]Archival Note: Page 11 of this manuscript is not extant.

Then when you pray "thy kingdom come"Matt 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Luke 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. , remember that kingdom is spirit and not matter.

"And lo! The star which they saw in the east went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was"Matt 2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. .

That star prefigured Divine Science, and only the watching, willing, working christian beholds it, and it guides him to the cradle of a new life, where unto him a child is born, a new idea hath birth, he beholds it, he understands it, and loves it. But Science must traverse the night of the age, wade through gloom until the child is born and "the glad tidings of great joy proclaimed to all"Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. -- until the Truth has dawned upon us that Spirit is the only Life, Substance and Intelligence of man; and just as it came to the waiting wise men of old, it comes to the waiting heart today a Prince of peace, healing the sick, casting out error, raising the dead, lifting our sense of life from matter to Spirit. "And of the increase of his government there shall be no end"Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. .

But this babe of christian science the age layeth again in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes, nursed in obscurity, for the Herods of today decree its deathMatt 2:16 ¶Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, 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. . "But fear ye not, little flock"Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. , this son of God, this offspring of Principle abideth forever.

Let the Shepherds shout again the child is born! "And they have called his name wonderful", and let the future declare with IsaihCorrected:Isaiah, "I remember thee, O! Zion, with healing on thy wings, thy walls were salvation, and thy gates praise"Isa 60:18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. !