d splendid spirit; perfects a good hope
and faith concerning the reception of divine light; and in one word,
renders those by whom it is employed the familiars and domestics of the
Gods."[307]

Out of such study and practice one inevitable result arises, as a man
begins to understand, and as the wider range of human life unfolds
before him. He sees that by knowledge his strength is much increased,
that there are forces around him that he can understand and control, and
that in proportion to his knowledge is his power. Then he learns that
Divinity lies hidden within himself, and that nothing that is fleeting
can satisfy that God within; that only union with the One, the Perfect,
can still his cravings. Then there gradually arises within him the will
to set himself at one with the Divine; he ceases to vehemently seek to
change circumstances, and to throw fresh causes into the stream of
effects. He recognises himself as an agent rather than an actor, a
channel rather than a source, a servant rather than a master, and seeks
to discover the divine purposes and to work in harmony therewith.

When a man has reached that point, he has risen above all prayer, save
that which is meditation and worship; he has nothing to ask for, in this
world or in any other; he remains in a steadfast serenity, seeking but
to serve God. That is the state of Sonship, where the will of the Son is
one with the will of the Father, where the one calm surrender is made,
"Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. I am content to do it; yea, Thy law
is within my heart."[308] Then all prayer is seen to be unnecessary;
all asking is felt as an impertinence; nothing can be longed for that is
not already in the purposes of that Will, and all will be brought into
active manifestation as the agents of that Will perfect themselves in
the work.

CHAPTER XI.

THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.

"I believe in ... the forgiveness of sins." "I acknowledge one baptism
for the remission of sins." The words fall facilely from the lips of
worshippers in every Christian church throughout the world, as they
repeat the familiar creeds called those of the Apostles and the Nicene.
Among the sayings of Jesus the words frequently recur: "Thy sins are
forgiven thee," and it is noteworthy that this phrase constantly
accompanies the exercise of His healing powers, the release from
physical and moral disease being thus marked as simultaneous. In fact,
on one occasion He pointed to the