WE CONSIDER that one of the opportunities and privileges of this MAGAZINE is to recommend books of value to our students. We give below excerpts from I LIFT MY LAMP* by Alberta Smith, knowing that it will bring a fresh inspiration to many. We have already reviewed this book, but it is so full of valuable teachings in line with our IMPERSONAL WORK that we bring it again to the notice of our readers.—The EDITOR.

IT IS NOT by accident that the word PRAISE occurs so many times in the Bible. Nor does it always convey the same meaning. In the greater number of instances, the thought of worship —the act of glorifying God—is indicated. Next in importance seems to be the idea of commendation for worth or excellence; and, then, a close alliance with the word gratitude, carrying the thought of a warm friendly feeling toward a benefactor; and, in many instances, the thought of magnifying is distinctly implied.

Have you ever stopped to think how little progress could have been made in the scientific world, if there had been no instruments with which to magnify the objects under observation? But for the powerful telescope, we should likely have remained in ignorance of the planets for many more years. Without a magnifying lens, biological research could never have accomplished the beneficent results with which it has been credited. So, there is no denying the fact that the magnifying glass occupies a position of importance in the world.

It is no less important to man when he is working entirely in the realm of thought. He soon finds that to attain spiritual growth, it is necessary to magnify the good which he now has, in order to insure a rapid increase. The magnifying glass he uses is PRAISE.

The wonder-working power of prayer and praise was well illustrated when the shackles fell from Paul and Silas, as they were confined “in the inner prison and their feet in stocks.” Paul had perfect faith. He said: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come; nor height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38, 39).

An understanding such as this was tremendous then, and such faith in the perfect operation of God’s laws is tremendous now. This was the real magnifying glass of praise—the faith that accepted his deliverance as a present fact, while he was yet in chains!

What has been the effect of such praise as you have heard, merely praise for kindly gestures of life? Has it made people better or worse? Most of us feel that the action of praise is magical. Even praising the good deeds of a child causes him to want to be good . . . to want to be worthy of your praise. He thrives under praise. His consciousness is exalted through it. This would seem to be in line with Bulwer’s comment on the subject. “How a little praise warms out of a man the good that is in him, as the sneer of contempt (which he feels is unjust) chills the ardor to excel.”

John Ruskin, so anxious that every word he wrote might prove a blessing, said: “You will find that it is less easy to uproot faults than to choke them by gaining virtues. Do not think of your faults, still less of others’ faults. In every person who comes near you, look for what is good and strong. Honor that, rejoice in it, and, as you can, try to imitate; and your faults will drop off, like dead leaves when their time comes.”

The first great vista that opens up to us as students of Truth is the conviction that there is but One Mind, One Spirit, One Substance—only One Ultimate Reality, but within this One are many experiences. If God is all there is, and God cannot think or know anything unlike Himself, then, the laws of God govern our thinking. As God sees us perfect, we must forever see the Real Man as perfect, whether we are thinking of ourselves or another. This is the reason for our premise. An attitude of praise is putting the law of God’s love into action, and love is manifest as life. There is an immutable law that if we, either by criticizing or by withholding praise, withdraw from our fellow men, we cut the cords of love which bind us . . . sever the arteries and veins through which universal life flows.”

To those who have not thought deeply on the subject, it may appear inconsistent, this praising a quality which is not apparent, but it is divinely consistent in reality. Praise of another’s good qualities which do not seem to be evident, is compelling in ourselves an affirmation of the Truth of Being, and is forcing us to see only the perfect man. The mere fact of giving this expression destroys any seeds of envy and jealousy. The more difficult it is for us to form true concepts of others, the more determined we should be. For we have already learned, by this time, another great law: That which we recognize as being a reality in any man’s experience, may become a reality in our own!

In Infinite Mind, every individual is motivated by an ultimate picture of perfection, though we are all at different stages of unfoldment. If we are searchers for the divinity in another, it is easy to find something to praise, and certainly this is true homage —praising God in humanity. We are not speaking now of the fulsome praise of the flatterer, but rather of that praise which comes from the Soul and is of and to the Soul. This praise forever heals, strengthens and inspires.

It is obvious that criticism is the exact antithesis of praise, as criticism insists on magnifying the discord. In criticising, we are wrong in two ways. First, we are setting ourselves up as judges, giving the impression by our fault-finding that we are without fault. Secondly, we are expressing personal standards of what is right, expecting others to follow. Our critical attitude at once proclaims our standard as an unsafe one to follow. The standard of Christ can be our only standard by which to judge both ourselves and others. But, when we perceive this standard, we are wholly unable to criticize! We can see only perfection, as God sees perfection. Criticism always displays the fact that we lack the power to behold the perfection of God!

The Mantle of Love is that garment of Praise described by the prophet Isaiah (61:3) as the gift of Christ. It is thrown over all the canvas of evil, proving how it is possible to sing praises for the good rather than to complain about the evil. The Christ in us should enable us to throw the garment of praise over the disconsolate, and often, by one little word, fan into flame the dying fires of self-respect and aspiration. As one only needs to keep the mouth and nose out of water, at times, to keep from drowning, so many times a slight lifting of the thought, a word of inspiration, a look or a handclasp—all expressions of praise—may restore the entire being to a state of true consciousness and equilibrium.

Praise is the outer edge—the fringe—of love, and love is the most potent factor in life. We must go right on magnifying the good in our mind, our body, and in our affairs. If we sow the seed, we shall reap a rich reward in health and prosperity and all good. We must not spare the words of praise, even when appearances indicate the opposite result, but must expect that our word will return filled with the truth of Spirit. As Carlyle said: “If there is a harvest ahead, it is poor thrift to be stingy with your seed corn.”

Without fear of contradiction, we claim that praise has the power to cause our good to increase and multiply! By praising that good which we now have—whether it be money, health, friends, or wisdom—we know we are causing that good to flourish.

If we think of happiness and health, as belonging to the future, then we have entered the consciousness in which limitations have a part. The eternal now belongs to the consciousness which is untouched by limitation, in which fulfillment has already taken place—the time of the Spirit, the time of demonstration. If we are unable to praise God for the blessing which we know is ours, until it becomes visible on the objective plane, then our demonstration will always take place in the future. As B. F. Whitney says: “Your demonstrations will be put off until tomorrow, if it takes you until tomorrow to get into the consciousness of the now.”

As we are filled with the consciousness of “Now are we the sons of God . . .” we understand the why of constant praise. Can you imagine the Son of God giving to persons or things or conditions the power to deprive him of happiness? If the knowledge of your divine sonship does not bring forth songs of praise and thanksgiving, what would make you happy? As the Son of God, you are not inferior to any other person in the world, nor is any other person inferior to you. Personal limitation has ceased to exist. With this knowledge, can you do otherwise than forever praise the divinity which you recognize in your fellow man? Resting in this spiritual realization, you are saying to every man you meet, “The Christ in me greets the Christ in you—the perfect man,” and this magic formula of praise will bless every man, woman and child who comes within the periphery of your thoughts.

This ability to understand and obey Truth is ours today, if we are ready to recognize and use it. We sometimes forget that we neither make nor sustain the truth. Actually, the most we can do is to come into agreement with it; start the operation of it in our lives. Christ Jesus said: “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” It is ours to affirm the truth and leave God to operate it. We are all cultivators of our own garden of thought, and it remains with us to “to will and to do.” It is up to us to decide whether it shall be a garden of weeds or a garden of flowers. The difference is not so much one of personal capacity of consecration and devotion. God’s demand is that man shall know only good, and the difficulty of mortals in meeting it is measured by the tenacity with which they hold to a sense of evil.

There is, strangely enough, in human nature an inherent disposition to descend upon the subject of discord (whether it be the flood or the ‘flu) and a disinclination to believe in the reality of good. There seems to be a stubborn determination to call evil good and to magnify it far above the good—an inclination to think negatively, to look for discord, to prophesy and expect it, and even to make mental laws that it shall come to pass, in hundreds of ways.

With the inconsistent belief that God knows both evil and good; that He is responsible for evil as well as good; and that it is His will for man to suffer—with such a delusive panorama constantly in view, what could be expected other than a magnified sense of evil in all its myriad forms. As followers of Christ, it devolves upon us to magnify the good. It is essential that we accept as real only those thoughts as are traceable to divine Mind. There being only One Mind, there is, in reality, only one quality of declaration. Every right thought has an immaculate origin and expresses eternal life.

We are expressing perfect Principle when we praise God for blessings that are real on the spiritual plane this moment. The basic rule for spiritual growth which Jesus gave us was . . . “if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God . . .” The “open sesame” to a practical proof of divine power—“If any man do his will.” Can we fail to magnify with praise as we think of that? Is it wealth we are looking for? Real substance is certainly spiritual. Is it happiness we think we desire? That is obviously a quality of the soul. Is it peace, poise, harmony, joy, wisdom or strength we are searching? These are certainly found in Mind.

Do you ever ask yourself, “why do I pray?” I will tell you. First, we pray because we have come to the end of our rope, as it were—we recognize our own inadequacy. Secondly, we believe that God can help. Why should we think that God could or would answer prayer; on what is our belief founded? Is it not because of all the promises contained in the Scriptures, and because of the examples which Jesus gave us as to the manner of our praying? I think this is true. If we agree, then you will not dispute the statement that we cannot lay hold of part of the promises and disregard the others. One of the most important announcements of all time is: “Before they call, I will answer.” According to this, before we have been able to express in words the desire of our heart, God has already answered! If this be true, then almost our first step in prayer must be to PRAISE Him! And again: “All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” I think none of us would intentionally doubt God, yet when we do not believe that He has answered even before we can ask, we are doubting God!

A realization of the actual presence of God, of the fact that we “live and move and have our being in Him,” enables us to eliminate from consciousness any belief that man can ever be less than perfect. Praise and gratitude are potent antidotes to any false belief of lack or discord. Gratitude just naturally flows into our consciousness as we become aware of the infinite good which that Presence insures. Thus, it is clearly manifest, as every man is seen by us as God sees him—kind, loving, tender, gracious, beautiful—we will, by this recognition, by this praise, be bringing harmony into our individual world.

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