It is not safe for us to turn from the Holy Scriptures, with only a casual reading of their sacred pages.... Rein the mind up to the high task that has been set before it, and study with determined interest, that you may understand divine truth. Those who do this, will be surprised to find to what the mind can attain...

The Bible is second to no other book; it is without a rival. A knowledge and acceptance of its teachings will impart vigor and health of mind. A comprehension of its teachings requires the student to grasp the knowledge of God’s infinite will. The Word of God teaches men and women how to become the sons and daughters of God. No other book, no other study, can equal this; the principles it instills, like the power and nature of its Author, are omnipotent. It is capable of imparting the highest education to which the mortal mind can attain. 

It is not safe for us to turn from the Holy Scriptures, with only a casual reading of their sacred pages.... Rein the mind up to the high task that has been set before it, and study with determined interest, that you may understand divine truth. Those who do this, will be surprised to find to what the mind can attain. 

The minds of all who make the Word of God their study will enlarge. Far more than any other study its influence is calculated to increase the powers of comprehension and endow every faculty with a new power. It brings the mind in contact with broad, ennobling principles of truth. It brings all heaven into close connection with human minds, imparting wisdom and knowledge and understanding. 

In dealing with commonplace productions, and feeding on the writings of uninspired men, the mind becomes dwarfed and cheapened.... The understanding unconsciously accommodates itself to the comprehension of the things with which it is familiar, and in the consideration of these finite things, the understanding is weakened, its powers contracted, and after a time it becomes unable to expand.... 

All knowledge gained in this life of probation which will help us to form characters that will fit us to be companions of the saints in light is true education. It will bring blessings to ourselves and others in this life, and will secure to us the future, immortal life with its imperishable riches. OHC 35


No literal devil, and probation after the coming of Christ, are fast becoming popular fables. The Scriptures plainly declare that every person's destiny is forever fixed at the coming of the Lord. Revelation 22:11, 12: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”—Testimonies for the Church 1:342, 343. Hvn 71



"The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." Psalm 12:6 (King James Version)

Treasure the truth above everything; sell it not for any price...

The truth is precious; it has wrought important changes upon the life and character, exerting a masterly influence over words, deportment, thoughts, and experience. 

The religion of Jesus Christ never degrades the receiver. If it finds men and women earthly, common, coarse, unkindly in words, harsh in speech, selfish and self-caring, truth received in the heart commences its purifying, refining process. In words, in dress, in all our habits, there is seen reformation and those things that please God. Then all the world may see its influence in the transforming process. 

Truth refines the taste and sanctifies the judgment. It elevates and ennobles, and is silently and constantly doing its leavening work till the whole being is cleansed and made a vessel unto honor, under the operation of the Holy Spirit, to make the receiver of truth fit for the society of pure and sinless angels.... 

A salvation which was purchased for humanity at such an infinite cost should be held in the most precious vessel by every believer. That which is of such value should ever be highly regarded and not cheapened and made common by the coarseness and roughness retained by those who receive the truth. 

Truth as it is in Jesus is not cold and lifeless and formal.... Truth is full of warmth, of evidence from the presence of Jesus....

We have a message to bear to the world. It involves a cross. The truths are unpleasant because they require self-denial and self-sacrifice. Then how essential that those who bear the truth, as they speak the truth faithfully, shall by every word and act show that the love of Christ moves them. Truth is ... always lovely, and those who live the truth as it is in Jesus should study how to present the truth so that its loveliness may appear. 

Treasure the truth above everything; sell it not for any price. OHC 34


The very One who gave His precious life for them, who by His grace moved their hearts to repentance, who awakened them to their need of repentance, receives them now into His joy. Oh, how they love Him! The realization of their hope is infinitely greater than their expectation. Their joy is complete, and they take their glittering crowns and cast them at their Redeemer's feet.—RH June 18, 1901 quoted in Counsels on Stewardship, 349. Hvn 71



"Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding." Proverbs 23:23 (King James Version)

Truth must reach down to the deepest recesses of the soul, and cleanse away everything unlike the spirit of Christ, and the vacuum be supplied by the attributes of His character who was pure and holy and undefiled, that all the springs of the heart may be as flowers, fragrant with perfume, a sweet-smelling savor, a savor of life unto life...

Say with your whole heart, “I will walk in Thy truth.” Every resolution expressed in the fear of God will give strength to purpose and to faith. It will tend to stimulate and to humble, to strengthen and confirm. “I will walk in thy truth.” Truth deserves our confidence none the less because the world is flooded with fables. Because error and counterfeit are in circulation it only evidences the fact that there is truth, genuine truth, somewhere.... 

It is not enough for us to hear the truth only. God requires of us obedience. “Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” Luke 11:28. “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” John 13:17. 

We may walk in the enjoyment of the truth. It need not be to us a yoke of bondage, but a consolation, a message to us of glad tidings of great joy, animating our hearts and causing us to make melody in our hearts unto God. Through patience and comfort of the Scriptures we have hope. The Christian hope is not gloomy, comfortless. Oh, no, no. It does not shut us up in a prison of doubts and fears. The truth makes free those who love and are sanctified through it. They walk in the glorious liberty of the sons of God. 

We who claim to believe the truth should reveal its fruits in our words and character. We are to be far advanced in a knowledge of Jesus Christ, in the reception of His love for God and for our neighbor, in order to have the sunlight of heaven shining in our daily life. Truth must reach down to the deepest recesses of the soul, and cleanse away everything unlike the spirit of Christ, and the vacuum be supplied by the attributes of His character who was pure and holy and undefiled, that all the springs of the heart may be as flowers, fragrant with perfume, a sweet-smelling savor, a savor of life unto life. 

It is truth enshrined in the soul that makes one a man of God. OHC 33


When Christ came to this earth the first time, He came in lowliness and obscurity, and His life here was one of suffering and poverty.... At His second coming all will be changed. Not as a prisoner surrounded by a rabble will men see Him, but as heaven's King. Christ will come in His own glory, in the glory of His Father, and in the glory of the holy angels. Ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of angels, the beautiful, triumphant sons of God, possessing surpassing loveliness and glory, will escort Him on His way. In the place of a crown of thorns, He will wear a crown of glory—a crown within a crown. In the place of that old purple robe, He will be clothed in a garment of whitest white, “so as no fuller on earth can white” (Mark 9:3) it. And on His vesture and on His thigh a name will be written, “King of kings, and Lord of lords.”—The Review and Herald, November 13, 1913 quoted in God's Amazing Grace, 358. Hvn 70



"Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name." Psalm 86:11 (King James Version)

Let no one say that the truth you profess makes you no different from the worldling.... Do not give the least occasion for anyone to speak ill of your faith because you are not sanctified through the truth...

The cause of God needs men and women who will stand on the platform of truth without wavering, and who will hold the banner of truth firmly aloft, so that no man can fail to see on which side they are standing. Their position is to be clearly defined. Their hearts are to be pure and holy, free from pretense or deception. 

The truth must find an abiding place in the heart. Then through the power of the Holy Spirit it will exert its influence in all you do and say. Shall we try to keep the truth out of sight? No, no, not for a moment! It is to be sacredly regarded. Its principles are to be consulted in all your transactions. It is to be a counselor in all your difficulties, a guide in all your relations of life, a present help in every time of need. In public, in private, where no human eye can see, where no ear but God’s can hear, there the truth should control us, directing our thoughts, prompting our words and deeds. 

You may show to the world that the truth which you profess sanctifies and ennobles the character and leads to industry and frugality, while it avoids avarice, overreaching, and every species of dishonesty. In your words manifest patience and forbearance, and you may every day be preaching a sermon upon the power of truth and do effectual service to the cause of God. Let no one say that the truth you profess makes you no different from the worldling.... Do not give the least occasion for anyone to speak ill of your faith because you are not sanctified through the truth. 

When the truth as it is in Jesus molds our characters, it will be seen to be truth indeed. As it is contemplated by the true believer, it will grow brighter, shining in its original beauty. As we behold it, it will increase in value, brightening in its own natural loveliness, quickening and vivifying the mind, and subduing our selfish, un-Christlike coarseness of character. It will elevate our aspirations, enabling us to reach the perfect standard of holiness. OHC 32


“If any man's work abide ... he shall receive a reward.” Glorious will be the reward bestowed when the faithful workers are gathered about the throne of God and the Lamb. When John in his mortal state beheld the glory of God, he fell as one dead; he was not able to endure the sight. But when mortal shall have put on immortality, the ransomed ones are like Jesus, for they see Him as He is. They stand before the throne, signifying that they are accepted. All their sins are blotted out, all their transgressions borne away. Now they can look upon the undimmed glory from the throne of God. They have been partakers with Christ of His sufferings, they have been workers together with Him in the plan of redemption, and they are partakers with Him in the joy of beholding souls saved through their instrumentality to praise God through all eternity.—Testimonies for the Church 5:467. Hvn 70



"I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me." Psalm 119:30 (King James Version)

We may dig down deep into the mine of truth, and gather precious treasures with which to enrich the soul. Here we may learn the true way to live, the safe way to die...

“Most wondrous book! bright candle of the Lord!
Star of eternity! the only light
By which the bark of man can navigate
The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss securely.”

Why should not this book—this precious treasure—be exalted and esteemed as a valued friend? This is our chart across the stormy sea of life. It is our guide-book, showing us the way to the eternal mansions, and the character we must have to inhabit them. There is no book the perusal of which will so elevate and strengthen the mind as the study of the Bible. Here the intellect will find themes of the most elevated character to call out its powers. There is nothing that will so endow with vigor all our faculties as bringing them in contact with the stupendous truths of revelation. The effort to grasp and measure these great thoughts expands the mind. We may dig down deep into the mine of truth, and gather precious treasures with which to enrich the soul. Here we may learn the true way to live, the safe way to die. 

A familiar acquaintance with the Scriptures sharpens the discerning powers, and fortifies the soul against the attacks of Satan. The Bible is the sword of the Spirit, which will never fail to vanquish the adversary. It is the only true guide in all matters of faith and practice. The reason why Satan has so great control over the minds and hearts of men is that they have not made the Word of God the man of their counsel, and all their ways have not been tried by the true test. The Bible will show us what course we must pursue to become heirs of glory. 

As the heart is opened to the entrance of the Word, light from the throne of God will shine into the soul. That Word, cherished in the heart, will yield to the student a treasure of knowledge that is priceless. Its ennobling principles will stamp the character with honesty and truthfulness, temperance and integrity. OHC 31


When the children of God shall have put on immortality, they will “see Him as He is.” 1 John 3:2. They will stand before the throne, accepted in the Beloved. All their sins have been blotted out, all their transgressions borne away. Now they can look upon the undimmed glory of the throne of God. They have been partakers with Christ in His sufferings, they have been workers together with Him in the plan of redemption, and they are partakers with Him in the joy of seeing souls saved in the kingdom of God, there to praise God through all eternity.—Testimonies for the Church 9:285. Hvn 69



"Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path." Psalm 119:105 (New King James Version)

Behold Jesus crucified for you. Behold Him grieved with your sins; and when you pray, repent, and earnestly desire to see Him as your sin-pardoning Redeemer, ready to bless you, and to hear your acknowledgment of Him. Keep close to His side...

Before you engage in any important work, remember that Jesus is your counselor, and that it is your privilege to cast all your care upon Him.... Do not keep Jesus in the background and never mention His name, never call the attention of your friends to Him who is at your side to be your counselor. Would not your friends look upon you as disrespectful were they at your side, and you never spoke to them or of them? ... 

Many complain that Jesus seems a long way off. Who has placed Him a long way off? Has it not been your own course of action that has separated you from Jesus? He has not forsaken you, but you have forsaken Him for other lovers.... It is when you wander from His side, and are charmed with the voice of the seducer, and fasten your affections upon some trifling thing, that you are in danger of losing your peace and trust and confidence in God.... Then it is that Satan presents to you the thought that Jesus has forsaken you; but is it not that you have forsaken Jesus? ... We dare not let His name languish on our lips, and His love and memory die out of our hearts. 

“Well,” says the cold, formal professor, “this is making Christ too much like a human being”; but the Word of God warrants us to have these very ideas. It is the want of these practical, definite views of Christ, that hinders so many from having a genuine experience in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This is the reason that many are fearing and doubting and mourning. Their ideas of Christ and the plan of salvation are vague, dreary, and confused. If they had, like David, set the Lord ever before them,... their feet would be upon solid rock. Behold Jesus crucified for you. Behold Him grieved with your sins; and when you pray, repent, and earnestly desire to see Him as your sin-pardoning Redeemer, ready to bless you, and to hear your acknowledgment of Him. Keep close to His side. OHC 30


The promise of Christ's second coming was ever to be kept fresh in the minds of His disciples. The same Jesus whom they had seen ascending into heaven, would come again, to take to Himself those who here below give themselves to His service. The same voice that had said to them, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end,” would bid them welcome to His presence in the heavenly kingdom.—The Acts of the Apostles, 33. Hvn 69



"Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." Psalm 73:23-24 (King James Version)

Jesus is our helper; in Him and through Him we must conquer.... The grace of Christ is waiting your demand upon it. He will give you grace and strength as you need it if you ask Him....

Jesus wants you to be happy, but you cannot be happy in having your own way and following the impulses of your own heart.... Our notions, our peculiarities, are wholly human and must not be humored or indulged. Self is to be crucified, not now and then but daily, and the physical, mental, and spiritual must be subordinate to the will of God. The glory of God, the perfection of Christian character, is to be the aim, the purpose, of our life. Christ’s followers must imitate Christ in disposition.... Like Christ is the watchword, not like your father or your mother, but like Jesus Christ—hid in Christ, clothed with Christ’s righteousness, imbued with the Spirit of Christ. All the peculiarities given us as an inheritance or acquired by indulgence or through erroneous education must be thoroughly overcome, decidedly resisted. Love of esteem and pride of opinion, all must be brought to the sacrifice.... 

Jesus is our helper; in Him and through Him we must conquer.... The grace of Christ is waiting your demand upon it. He will give you grace and strength as you need it if you ask Him.... The religion of Christ will bind and restrain every unholy passion, will stimulate to energy, to self-discipline, and industry, even in the matters of homely, everyday life, leading us to learn economy, tact, and self-denial, and to endure even privation without a murmur. The Spirit of Christ in the heart will be revealed in the character, will develop noble qualities and powers. “My grace is sufficient” (2 Corinthians 12:9) says Christ. 

God has done so much to make it possible for us to be free in Christ, free from the slavery of wrong habits and evil inclinations. Dear young friends, will you not strive to be free in Christ? You point to this and that professed Christian, saying, We have no confidence in them. If their lives are examples of Christianity, we want none of it. Look not at those around you. Look instead at the only perfect pattern, the man Christ Jesus. Beholding Him, you will be changed into the same image. OHC 29


The disciples were still looking earnestly toward heaven when, “behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:10, 11. Hvn 69



"For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Colossians 3:3 (King James Version)

That He might save the souls of perishing human beings, He made a gift of such magnitude that it can never be said that God could have made His gift, His donation to the human family, greater. His gift defies computation. All this God did that man might become impregnated with the divine love and benevolence...

To enlarge our views of God’s goodness, Christ calls upon us to behold the works of His hands. “Behold the fowls of the air,” He says, “they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” Matthew 6:26.... 

Though men and women have sinned grievously, they are not forsaken. The hand that upholds the world, upholds and strengthens His weakest child. The great Master Artist, whose skill is infinitely beyond the skill of any human being, who gives to the lily of the field its delicate and beautiful tints, cares for the little sparrow. Not one falls to the ground without His notice.... 

If the flower is given a beauty that outvies the glory of Solomon, what can be the measurement of the estimate God places on His purchased heritage? Christ points us to the care bestowed on the things that wither in a day, to show us how much love God must have for the beings created in His own image.... He opens before us the volume of providence, and bids us behold the names written therein. In this volume every human being has a page, on which is written the events of his life history. And from the mind of God these names are never absent for a moment. Wonderful indeed is God’s love and care for the beings He has created....

That He might save the souls of perishing human beings, He made a gift of such magnitude that it can never be said that God could have made His gift, His donation to the human family, greater. His gift defies computation. All this God did that man might become impregnated with the divine love and benevolence. Thus He would assure sinners that sins of the greatest magnitude can be forgiven if the transgressor seeks for pardon, surrendering himself, body, soul, and spirit, to be transformed by the grace of God and changed into His likeness. 

In behalf of man God has poured out the whole treasury of heaven, and in return He expects and claims our entire affections. OHC 28


“The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise.” “The Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory.” Revelation 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 25:31. Thus will be fulfilled the Lord's own promise to His disciples: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:3. Well might the disciples rejoice in the hope of their Lord's return.—The Desire of Ages, 832. Hvn 68



"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." 1 Peter 5:7 (King James Version)

The less we see to esteem in ourselves, the more we shall see to esteem in the infinite purity and loveliness of our Saviour. A view of our own sinfulness drives us to Him who can pardon....

It is your thought that your mistakes and transgressions have been so grievous that the Lord will not have respect unto your prayers, and will bless and save you.... The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, and your imperfections will be seen in broad and distinct contrast to His perfect nature. But do not be discouraged. This is evidence that Satan’s delusions have lost their power; that the vivifying influence of the Spirit of God is arousing you, and your indifference and unconcern are passing away. 

No deep-seated love for Jesus can dwell in the heart that does not see and realize its own sinfulness. The soul that is transformed by grace will admire His divine character; but if we do not see our own moral deformity, it is unmistakable evidence that we have not had a view of the beauty and excellence of Christ. The less we see to esteem in ourselves, the more we shall see to esteem in the infinite purity and loveliness of our Saviour. A view of our own sinfulness drives us to Him who can pardon.... 

God does not deal with us as finite men deal with one another. His thoughts are thoughts of mercy, love, and tenderest compassion. “He will abundantly pardon.” He says, “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions”.... 

Look up, you who are tried, tempted, and discouraged, look up.... It is ever safe to look up; it is fatal to look down. If you look down, the earth reels and sways beneath you; nothing is sure. But heaven above you is calm and steady, and there is divine aid for every climber. The hand of the Infinite is reaching over the battlements of heaven to grasp yours in its strong embrace. The mighty Helper is nigh to bless, lift up, and encourage the most erring, the most sinful, if they will look to Him by faith. But the sinner must look up. OHC 27


Christ had ascended to heaven in the form of humanity. The disciples had beheld the cloud receive Him. The same Jesus who had walked and talked and prayed with them; who had broken bread with them; who had been with them in their boats on the lake; and who had that very day toiled with them up the ascent of Olivet—the same Jesus had now gone to share His Father's throne. And the angels had assured them that the very One whom they had seen go up into heaven, would come again even as He had ascended. He will come “with clouds; and every eye shall see Him.” Hvn 68



"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." Isaiah 55:7-8 (King James Version)

God destroys no man. Every man who is destroyed will destroy himself. When a man stifles the admonitions of conscience, he sows the seeds of unbelief and these produce a sure harvest....

God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If there were no light, there would be no shade. But while the shade comes by the sun, it is not created by it. It is some obstruction that causes the shadow. So darkness emanates not from God, but is the result of an intruding object between the soul and God.... Disregard of the light that God has given brings the sure result. It creates a shadow, a darkness that is more dark because of the light which has been sent.... If a man withdraws himself from light and evidence, and yields to Satan’s seducing arts, he himself draws the curtain of unbelief about him, so that light cannot be distinguished from darkness. More light and evidence would only be misunderstood by him. The greater the evidence, the greater will be the indifference. This will lead the deceived soul to call darkness light and truth error. 

Satan is constantly working to lead men to deny the light. It is but a step from the straightforward path to a diverging one, in which Satan leads the way, and where light is all darkness, and darkness light. ... It is a dangerous thing to open the heart to unbelief, for it drives the Spirit of God away from the heart, and Satan’s suggestions come in. ... We must ... avoid the first admission of doubt and unbelief. 

“Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7. God destroys no man. Every man who is destroyed will destroy himself. When a man stifles the admonitions of conscience, he sows the seeds of unbelief and these produce a sure harvest.... 

“They would none of my counsel, they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” Proverbs 1:30-33. OHC 26


They had a gospel to preach—Christ in human form, a man of sorrows; Christ in humiliation, taken by wicked hands and crucified; Christ resurrected, and ascended to heaven, into the presence of God, to be man's Advocate; Christ to come again with power and great glory in the clouds of heaven.—The Spirit of Prophecy 3:262, 263 quoted in The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 6:1054. Hvn 68



"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Isaiah 5:20 (King James Version)