How I Used Truth - Lesson 8 - Annotation 5
Give the metaphysical interpretation of the following Bible verses quoted in the text: "Jehovah will fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace" (Exod. 14:14); "For the battle is not yours, but God's (II Chron. 20:15).
5. In the first verse under consideration, "Jehovah will fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace," "Jehovah" is the Lord, or law of God, spiritual man, our spiritual nature. Sometimes we refer to this Lord or Jehovah as the Christ, or the Christ Idea, the will of God, or the Word of God. The words of this verse are part of a statement made by Moses to the Children of Israel when they reached the Red Sea and had turned in anger against him. Moses quieted them by telling them to stand still and see what God would do for them. They had been freed from slavery in Egypt and seemed to be on their way to full freedom when they came to the apparently impassable Red Sea with the Egyptians in close pursuit. When we come to "Red Sea" situations in our life, we can be assured that God-power will free us. We need only "stand still" within, or take a mental stand in Principle, to let God bring about the victory.
The root meaning of the word fight is "to comb ... to pluck, pull out." The word is also defined as a process leading to some victory. Thus, when we say "Jehovah will fight for you, we are dealing with a higher interpretation, and not the battling or struggling that is commonly meant by the word. We need not resist the difficulty in any way. If we do this, we only give it power. Instead, we must remain wholly nonresistant—that is, secure in the consciousness that God is the only power in our life -- in order for God-power to work through us for good. The Lord or Christ in us is the only power; and it will "comb, pluck, pull out" all that no longer has a part in our life or that of a loved one, if we "stand still" and let it.
Jesus said, "I can of myself do nothing" (John 5:30), for He knew that it was only of and by the power of the Father within, the Christ indwelling, the Lord, that He could accomplish His mighty works. The instruction is "ye shall hold your peace." While the action of God is taking place, we are to remain nonresistant by keeping ourselves centered and peaceful in the sure knowledge that God is in charge and victory is assured.
The second Bible verse under consideration reiterates what has already been said in essence: "For the battle is not yours, but God's" (II Chron. 20:15). We have already learned that God's responsibility is to "establish" or bring to fulfillment. Thus the so-called "battle" is part of the working-out process that is necessary to bring the manifestation of good in our life. We read these very comforting words,
"Jehovah will perfect that which concerneth me" (Psalms 138:8).
Keeping this in mind, we may be assured that Jehovah (the Lord) is taking care of the "battle" so that not only is our consciousness being lifted to a new spiritual level but our circumstances are being adjusted in divine order.
The text continues (II Chron. 20:17) with these words, "Set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of Jehovah with you." Contained in this Scripture are simple but clear instructions for us to follow. We are to "set" ourselves on a certain God-directed course, take a definite stand in our own consciousness. Having done this, we are sure to "see" with the eyes of faith the good (salvation) that God has prepared. Faith claims the victory. The text asks on page 85,
"Can you not calmly -- aye, even with rejoicing -- claim the victory right now, because it is God's battle?" (How I Used Truth 85).
To be able to "see the salvation of Jehovah" is to claim the victory by faith. However, it takes a strong consciousness of faith on our part to stand still mentally, to "see" the good and declare it, when there is nothing in the outer world to indicate such victory. By taking this positive attitude of mind, we are fulfilling our part, assuming our responsibility. We need never fear that God will "fall down" on His part of fulfilling our spoken word. When we can take such an attitude, we are able to see ourselves as spiritual beings. We are able to know that regardless of any outer difficulty the overcoming is assured.
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Preceding Entry: What is our responsibility? What is God's responsibility?
Following Entry: What part does "praise" have in spiritual treatment?
