H - Quotes
Delight thyself also in the Lord; & he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalm 37:4
To praise God in fullness & sincerity of heart is as much a duty as is prayer. We are to show to the world & to all the heavenly intelligences that we appreciate the wonderful love of God for fallen humanity & that we are expecting larger & yet larger blessings from His infinite fullness. Far more than we do, we need to speak of the precious chapters in our experience. After a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, our joy in the Lord & our efficiency in His service would be greatly increased by recounting His goodness & His wonderful works in behalf of His children. Such a testimony will have an influence upon others. No more effective means can be employed for winning souls to Christ. COL 299-300
A living Christian will cultivate gratitude of heart. He will seriously, earnestly recount the blessings of his life & the precious results of all his afflictions. He will recall every occasion upon which the hand of Christ has lifted up a standard for him against the enemy. The great love of Jesus, the infinite sacrifice made for man’s redemption, will be an unfailing theme for grateful, humble praise. RH May 30, 1882
Jesus... is at our right hand, & His eye is ever upon us. We should ever seek to realize that the Lord is very near us, to be our counselor & guide. This is the only way in which we may have confidence toward God. We need to educate & train the mind so that we shall have an intelligent faith, & have an understanding friendship with Jesus. Unless we continually cherish friendship between God & our souls, we shall separate from Him, & walk apart from Him. ...If we have fellowship with Him, we must ever set the Lord before us, & treat Him as an honored Friend, giving Him the first place in our affections. We should speak of His matchless charms, & constantly cultivate the desire to have a better knowledge of Jesus Christ. SD 27
In the gracious blessings which our heavenly Father has bestowed upon us we may discern innumerable evidences of a love that is infinite, & a tender pity surpassing a mother’s yearning sympathy for her wayward child. When we study the divine character in the light of the cross we see mercy, tenderness, & forgiveness blended with equity & justice. We must gather about the cross. Christ & Him crucified must be the theme of contemplation, of conversation, & of our most joyful emotion. We should have these special appointments for the purpose of keeping fresh in our thoughts everything which we receive from God, & of expressing our gratitude for His great love, & our willingness to trust everything to the hand that was nailed to the cross for us. 4T 461-462
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: & to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God. Psalm 50:23
Let us cultivate the grace of gratitude. Let the praises of God & of the Lamb be continually upon our lips; let the heart be a well-spring of gratitude that cannot be repressed, Christ in you a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. RH Jan. 2, 1894
If Christians would associate together, speaking to each other of the love of God & of the precious truths of redemption, their own hearts would be refreshed & they would refresh one another. We may be daily learning more of our heavenly Father, gaining a fresh experience of His grace; then we shall desire to speak of His love; & as we do this, our own hearts will be warmed & encouraged. If we thought & talked more of Jesus, & less of self, we should have far more of His presence. If we would but think of God as often as we have evidence of His care for us we should keep Him ever in our thoughts & should delight to talk of Him & to praise Him. We talk of temporal things because we have an interest in them. We talk of our friends because we love them; our joys & our sorrows are bound up with them. Yet we have infinitely greater reason to love God than to love our earthly friends; it should be the most natural thing in the world to make Him first in all our thoughts, to talk of His goodness & tell of His power. The rich gifts He has bestowed upon us were not intended to absorb our thoughts & love so much that we should have nothing to give to God; they are constantly to remind us of Him & to bind us in bonds of love & gratitude to our heavenly Benefactor... Let us raise our eyes to the open door of the sanctuary above, where the light of the glory of God shines in the face of Christ... We need to praise God more “for His goodness, & for His wonderful works to the children of men.” Our devotional exercises should not consist wholly in asking & receiving. Let us not be always thinking of our wants & never of the benefits we receive. We do not pray any too much, but we are too sparing of giving thanks. We are the constant recipients of God's mercies, & yet how little gratitude we express, how little we praise Him for what He has done for us. That which is done for the glory of God should be done with cheerfulness, with songs of praise & thanksgiving,... He is their best friend; & when they worship Him, He expects to be with them, to bless & comfort them, filling their hearts with joy & love. The Lord desires His children to take comfort in His service & to find more pleasure than hardship in His work. He desires that those who come to worship Him shall carry away with them precious thoughts of His care & love, that they may be cheered in all the employments of daily life, that they may have grace to deal honestly & faithfully in all things. The soul may ascend nearer heaven on the wings of praise. God is worshiped with song & music in the courts above, & as we express our gratitude we are approximating to the worship of the heavenly hosts. “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth” God. Let us with reverent joy come before our Creator, with “thanksgiving, & the voice of melody.” SC 101-104
Enter into His gate with thanksgiving, & into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, & bless his name. Psalm 100:4
The Lord desires us to make mention of His goodness & tell of His power. He is honored by the expression of praise & thanksgiving. He says, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me.” The people of Israel, as they journeyed through the wilderness, praised God in sacred song. The commandments & promises of the Lord were set to music, & all along the journey these were sung by the pilgrim travelers. And in Canaan as they met at their sacred feasts God’s wonderful works were to be recounted, & grateful thanksgiving was to be offered to His name. God desired that the whole life of His people should be a life of praise. Thus His way was to be made “known upon earth,” His “saving health among all nations.” So it should be now... They are to be turned from their false worship, not by hearing denunciation of their idols, but by beholding something better. God’s goodness is to be made known. “Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.” The Lord desires us to appreciate the great plan of redemption, to realize our high privilege as the children of God, & to walk before Him in obedience, with grateful thanksgiving. He desires us to serve Him in newness of life, with gladness every day. He longs to see gratitude welling up in our hearts because our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, because we may cast all our care upon Him who cares for us. He bids us rejoice because we are the heritage of the Lord, because the righteousness of Christ is the white robe of His saints, because we have the blessed hope of the soon coming of our Saviour. COL 298-299
Let your conversation, your music, your songs all praise Him who has done so much for us. Praise God here, & then you will be fitted to join the heavenly choir when you enter the city of God. Then you can cast your glittering crowns at the feet of Jesus, take your golden harps, & fill all heaven with melody. We shall praise Him with an immortal tongue. 10LtMs, Ms 16, 1895
Oh, what value we may see every day in the unspeakable gifts of God! ...Let us stop every breath of complaint, & shape our words into songs of joy & thankfulness for his beautiful gifts in the world of nature, & for the priceless gift of his dear Son to save a perishing world. If we would be among those who will praise God in the world to come, we must begin to praise him here, & now. We must tune our hearts to the music of heaven, which is praise to God & to the Lamb forever & ever. BEcho Apr. 1, 1889
Let us talk faith, & not unbelief; let us praise God & go forward. The Lord is good, & greatly to be praised. At every step let us praise Him from whom all blessings flow. 19LtMs, Ms 106, 1904
The Christian should live so near to God that he may approve things that are excellent... His heart should be attuned to gratitude & praise. He should be ever ready to acknowledge the blessings he is receiving, remembering who it is that has said, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me.” Many professed Christians dwell too much on the dark side of life, when they might rejoice in the sunshine; they repine when they should be glad; they talk of trials when they should offer praise for the rich blessings they enjoy. They look at the unpleasant things, hoard up the disappointments, & sigh over the griefs, &, as a consequence, grow heavy-hearted & sad, when, should they count up their blessings, they would find them so numerous that they would forget to mention their annoyances. If they would every day take note of the favors that are done them; if they would store their minds with the precious memory of kindnesses received, how much occasion they would find to render thanks & praise to the Giver of all good. ST Feb. 12, 1885
Thank God for the bright pictures which He has presented to us. Let us group together the blessed assurances of His love, that we may look upon them continually: The Son of God leaving His Father’s throne, clothing His divinity with humanity, that He might rescue man from the power of Satan; His triumph in our behalf, opening heaven to men, revealing to human vision the presence chamber where the Deity unveils His glory; the fallen race uplifted from the pit of ruin into which sin had plunged it, & brought again into connection with the infinite God, & having endured the divine test through faith in our Redeemer, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, & exalted to His throne - these are the pictures which God would have us contemplate. SC 118
We should seek to understand what it means to draw nigh to God. We are to come near to Him, not to stand a great way off, for in that case we shall not be able to feel the influence of His divine Spirit. Those who came into the presence of Christ, drawing nigh to Him, could more readily breathe in the atmosphere that surrounded Him, catch His spirit, & be impressed with His lessons. We are engaged in a serious, solemn work, & we should seek to be in that humble position, to have that teachable spirit, that the Lord can impress our hearts, & that we may feel His drawing power. We never draw nigh to God but that He is drawing us. God has angels whose whole work is to draw those who shall be heirs of salvation. Whenever one takes a step toward Jesus, Jesus is taking steps toward him. The angels’ work is to keep back the powers of Satan. God loves you. He does not wish to draw you nigh to Him to hurt you, oh, no; but to comfort you, to pour in the oil of rejoicing, to heal the wounds that sin has made, to bind up where Satan has bruised. He wants to give you the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness. TMK 246
Let us turn away our eyes from beholding the imperfections of those who are in the church, but who have not the likeness of Christ. We shall not be held responsible because those who make a high profession do not possess corresponding virtues. Let us thank God that it is our privilege to turn away our eyes from these defective Christians, & look upon those who are truly devoted, who are doers of the Word, & who in life & character bear the image of the Divine. And above all things, thank God that it is your privilege to look upon Christ, the perfect pattern... OHC 248
If every child of God would seek Him earnestly & perseveringly, there would be a greater growth in grace. Dissensions would cease; believers would be of one heart & one mind; purity & love would prevail in the churches. By beholding, we become changed. The more you contemplate the character of Christ, the more you will become conformed to His image. Come to Jesus just as you are, & He will receive you, & put a new song into your mouth, even praise to God. PUR Jul. 20, 1905
The Lord would have us realize our high privileges as His children. He would have us appreciate the great plan of redemption, dwelling with thanksgiving & praise upon the coming of our Lord. 21MR 27
Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. Ephesians 5:4
In the worldling you expect to see lightness, trifling, vanity, immorality, jesting, & joking, but let it not so much as be named among you who are risen with Christ... We must now elevate our thoughts & come to learn in the school of the Master. TMK 307
Those who profess to believe the third angel’s message, often wound the cause of God by lightness, joking, & trifling. This evil is all through our ranks. RH Sept. 9, 1884
The spirit that is cherished in the home, is the spirit that will be manifested in the church. ...we must educate the soul to be pitiful, gentle, tender, full of forgiveness & compassion. While we lay aside all vanity, all foolish talking, jesting, & joking, we are not to become cold, unsympathetic, & unsocial. Christians should never be hard-hearted & unapproachable. The Spirit of the Lord should rest upon them until their characters are beautiful with the graces of heaven, & they become like fragrant flowers from the garden of God. ...“Well done” will be written in the books in heaven, because Jesus is faithfully represented. BEcho Jul. 1, 1892
Foolish, idle jesting fails to exalt the character of Christ; & when he is not lifted up, souls are not drawn to him. ST Nov. 21, 1892
Lay aside sarcasm & playing upon words. Remember that you are in a combat with Satan & his angels, as well as with the man. T1 626
When you mingle with the people in the market place, as you walk the street, or wherever you may be, be sure that you have a living connection with God, & that you represent the character of Christ to the world. Jesus said, “As the Father hath sent me, so have I sent you.” As he represented the Father, so his followers are to represent their Lord to the world. But you cannot do this unless the converting power of God is felt in your own heart from day to day. Your life must be hid with Christ in God. Self must be hidden in Christ. There must be no great I in heaven but the great I AM. BEcho Feb. 15, 1892
And not only should the prayer meeting be faithfully attended, but as often as once each week a praise meeting should be held. Here the goodness & manifold mercies of God should be dwelt upon. Were we as free to give expression to our thankfulness for mercies received as we are to speak of grievances, doubts, & unbelief, we might bring joy to the hearts of others, instead of casting discouragement & gloom upon them. The complainers & murmurers, who are ever seeing the discouragements in the way, & talking of trials & hardships, should contemplate the infinite sacrifice which Christ has made in their behalf. Then can they estimate all their blessings in the light of the cross. While looking upon Jesus, the Author & Finisher of our faith, whom our sins have pierced & our sorrows have burdened, we shall see cause for gratitude & praise, & our thoughts & desires will be brought into submission to the will of Christ. 4T 461
Speaking to yourselves in psalms & hymns & spiritual songs, singing & making melody in your heart to the Lord; Ephesians 5:19
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Psalm 100:1,2
The language of the soul should be that of joy & gratitude. If any have dark chapters in their experience let them bury them. Let this history not be kept bright by repetition... Cultivate only those thoughts & those feelings which will produce gratitude & praise... I entreat of you never to utter one word of complaint, but to cherish feelings of gratitude & thankfulness. By so doing you will be learning to make melody in your hearts. Weave into your experience the warp & woof, the golden threads, of gratitude. Contemplate the better land, where tears are never shed, where temptations & trials are never experienced, where losses & reproaches are never known, where all is peace & joy & happiness. Here your imagination may have full scope. These thoughts will make you more heavenly-minded, will endue you with heavenly vigor, will satisfy your thirsty soul with rivers of living waters, & will set upon your heart the seal of the divine image. They will fill you with joy & hope in believing & will abide with you as a comforter forever. HP 36
If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments & abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, & that your joy might be full. John 15:10
We do not have right conceptions of the life of Christ. There is pleasantness & fulness of joy in the religion of Jesus. Gloomy spirits are not a token of piety. Amid all the sorrows of Christ, while walking under the deep shadow of the cross, He bore a heart of cheerfulness & joy. Wherever He moved, joy & gladness sprang up in His path. He did not frown upon children’s plays. ...Jesus loves to see His children happy. I wish all who profess to love Christ had correct ideas of what constitutes genuine religion. Every instructor of youth should be a happiness maker. We want to bring all the joy, peace, & cheerfulness into our lives that is possible. We want to make melody in our hearts to the Lord. Many lives would be prolonged if they would unbend from the strain which has been upon them & be glad & happy. They should take real pleasure in seeing the children joyful & happy. Christ loved children, He attracted them, but never repulsed them. The children loved Jesus & never dreaded His presence. 4LtMs, Lt 19, 1886
We must humble our souls before God as never before, come low to the foot of the cross, & He will put a word in our mouths to speak for Him, even praise unto our God. He will teach us a strain from the song of the angels, even thanksgiving to our heavenly Father. We can do nothing of ourselves, but God wants to touch our lips with a living coal from off the altar. He wants to sanctify our tongues - to sanctify our whole being. TMK 191
Our God is, & he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Daniel sought the Lord when the decree went forth to slay all the wise men of the kingdom of Babylon because they could not relate or interpret a dream which had gone from the king’s mind. ...Daniel laid the whole matter before his companions, who were united with him in worshiping the true God. The matter was fully considered, & on their bended knees they pleaded that God would give them the power & wisdom that would alone avail them in their great necessity. They asked God that he would so arrange matters that they need not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. “Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.” They had not sought the mercies of God in vain. Then Daniel called together his companions, & thanked God that their prayers had been heard & answered, & they presented to God an offering of praise & thanksgiving, that was wholly acceptable to the Ruler of the universe. ...Daniel & his fellows had a praise meeting, & all the universe of heaven united with them in thanksgiving. Daniel said: “I thank thee, & praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom & might, & hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter. YI Nov. 22, 1894
There must be a living connection with God in prayer, a living connection with God in song & praise & thanksgiving. 13LtMs, Lt 96, 1895
Christ should never be out of the mind... He is the dispeller of all our doubts, the earnest of all our hopes. How precious is the thought that we may indeed become partakers of the divine nature, whereby we may overcome as Christ overcame! ...He is the melody of our songs, the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. He is living water to the thirsty soul. He is our refuge in the storm. He is our righteousness, our sanctification, our redemption. RH Aug. 26, 1890
We do not want to speak one word of doubt & thus praise the devil for his wonderful power to keep [us] in subjection. No, Christ has purchased me & redeemed me. Satan has no power over me. I am free in Christ Jesus because I believe in Him. Satan says to you, “You are a sinner & have no need to pray any longer.” But that is why I need to pray. That is why I need a Saviour. Should I say because I have sinned that I will not come to Christ till I make myself better? No, for that will be never. Christ declares that He came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. It is my privilege to lay hold of the sacrifice that has been made for me at an infinite cost. I take hold of Jesus Christ as my Saviour, & commit the keeping of my soul unto Him as unto a faithful Redeemer. He will keep that which I have committed unto Him in trust against that day. ...think of what God has done for you, & look over the history of the many things you know He has done for you. Praise Him that the angels of God guard you from dangers on the right & on the left. He has given you food & raiment. Praise God for these tokens of His goodness. And if you cannot think of anything in your life to be thankful for, praise Him that He has been merciful to you. There is one thing that covers everything else. He gave us Jesus Christ because He loved us… Oh, praise the Lord in your hearts & teach your tongues to praise Him. Seek the gifts of God, take His precious words & hang them in memory’s hall, & when you do that, look upon them, talk of them, praise God for them, & then the... shadow will not interpose between you and your God. We may every one of us have this rich experience to give to the world, that we know God & Jesus Christ, whom He hath sent. ...let it be seen in the world that He has given you tongues & utterances, & you will praise Him with your hearts & souls & voices. You are then making melody to God in your hearts, & when the call comes, “Child, come up higher,” when you enter the City of God through the gates that will sweep back on their glittering hinges, you will know just where to take up the immortal song. You will hear the music & know that the warfare is accomplished. And you will hear the voice of the Master, “Welcome thou into the joy of thy Lord. Thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things.” You will know just where to begin that song. You learned it here. You are not to groan & complain, but be learners in the school of Christ of His meekness & lowliness. We want to bear His yoke. He says that it is easy & that His burden is light. And if you have found it so, you know just how to catch the strains as the angel leads the heavenly choir. You will take the golden harp & fill all heaven with rich music to the Lamb. “Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain for our transgression.” You will cast your glittering crowns at His feet. Then have faith & patience & hope & you will gain the richest experience. You will be a light to the world & they, seeing your good works, will glorify your Father which is in heaven. I want to meet you among the throng in the kingdom of glory. I want to see your faces all illuminated with the glory of God. I want them to shine with the image of Jesus reflected in you. All your sorrows will be ended & you will be free indeed. No more sorrow & sin, but it will be joy, eternal joy, through the eternal ages. 9LtMs, Ms 16, 1894
What constitutes the brightness of Heaven? In what will consist the happiness of the redeemed? Christ is all in all. They will gaze with rapture unutterable upon the Lamb of God. They will pour out their songs of grateful praise & adoration to Him whom they loved & worshiped here. That song they learned & began to sing on earth. They learned to put their trust in Jesus while they were forming characters for Heaven. Their hearts were attuned to his will here. Their joy in Christ will be proportioned to the love & trust which they learned to repose in him here. RH May 30, 1882
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Thessalonians 5:18
Let us be thankful for every favor. Let us try to be sunshiny Christians. The souls that I trouble about, fearing that they will not hold fast till the end, I will commit to God. That which is divinely real will shine amidst the moral darkness, because Christ’s light shines upon it. To Him we owe constant praise & thanksgiving; for we are kept by His power through faith. We can not keep ourselves. TDG 44
Believe & trust in God, that He did not mean you should lay down your life now, & be of good courage. Do not speak a discouraging word to a soul, no matter to whom it is. Talk hope if it is in the very last of life, & if they die let them die praising the Lord. That is the nicest way to die. Now, I know about the subject, I have opened my doors to the consumptives; I have opened my house to them - more than one or two or three or four. I have seen the souls going down. The head printer said, “Will you take me?” “Yes,” I said. We put him into our house & the cholera was around & the family he was with had the cholera & they left him right there alone. A man brought him & put him in our room. The doctor came & said he would not live until morning, he would live until midnight & that was about all. ...we worked & we prayed for him all night long. In the morning when the doctor came, he said, “What have you done for that man?” We prayed all night long. Nothing else would have saved him. Our God answers prayer. Let everyone talk courage if it is to the very last breath. We kept him with us much longer that we expected him to live. He said, “I want to ride out.” I put up my hand & said, “Don’t ride out now.” I said, “You wait a little longer.” He had one sleeve in his coat on, & sat in the rocking chair, & sat there praising God all the time until the last breath was drawn. Well now, let them die in that way if they will, if they cannot be helped. That is the best way. I buried so many from my own house, I understand it. Now I want to say to every one, let us talk faith, let us praise God whether we live or die. If they die in the Lord there is a blessed morning of the resurrection. Now I want to say, never be discouraged whatever may come, never be discouraged but just say the Lord loves us, He will do His part. Does He ever fail us? I never knew Him to fail us. I want to say, God lives & we may have to take care of dying ones, but do not be discouraged with them. This intelligent young man studied himself to death. There was the daughter & husband, sister & brother, & they sent them to us as their only hope because the father & mother did not know how to take care of them. Death has no terrors for them. Praise God, praise God. He said, “Will you examine me.” That was about six weeks before he died. I said, “I will.” I put my ear right to the back of his lungs. Said he, “What do you say?” Said I, “You may live just about six weeks.” He lived about that time & then died & we said in his case, Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. He had many friends & he was an intelligent gentleman. We take them right to our home that we might ease them down to the grave, that was our work. We might say, Praise the Lord with heart & soul & voice & we do not praise the Lord half as much as we ought to. Here is Christ. He came to our world to die for us, that we might have everlasting life. Do let everyone improve it & be determined they will not have Christ die for them in vain. He passed through all that agony on the cross that none of you can suffer any more than He did. And yet He did all this in behalf of a work to save a ruined world. He came here to our humanity, that humanity might grasp divinity & lay hold upon the divinity that Christ brought into the world. And now let us be thankful always for Christ’s sake. 24LtMs, Ms 133, 1909
Praise God for these precious words. Praise God, praise His holy name that we have been led to the cross of Christ, & we understand that our only hope is to renounce self & all dependence in anything & everything, & take Jesus as our Saviour, a complete Redeemer. 9LtMs, Lt 52, 1894
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, be strong in the grace of Christ; know that He loves you & will be to you a constant efficiency. Lift your voice in praise & thanks to God. 11LtMs Lt 37, 1896
The mountains that girded their lowly valleys were a constant witness of God's creative power, & a never-failing assurance of his protecting care. Those pilgrims learned to love the silent symbols of Jehovah's presence. They indulged no repining because of the hardships of their lot; they were never lonely amid the mountain solitudes. They thanked God that he had provided for them an asylum from the wrath & cruelty of men. They rejoiced in their freedom to worship before him. Often when pursued by their enemies, the strength of the hills proved a sure defense. From many a lofty cliff they chanted the praise of God, & the armies of Rome could not silence their songs of thanksgiving. 4SP 71
All of us should be thankful at all times for the truth that heavenly angels are watching us moment by moment. 15LtMs, Lt 82, 1900
Let our requests be mingled with praise & thanksgiving. 22LtMs, Ms 29, 1907
Let us learn to praise the Lord in every place & under all circumstances. I remember that my father used to stand up in praise meetings, when they were becoming a little dry, & say: “What doth much increase the store? When I praise Him, He gives me more.” Thus he always made it his practice to praise God. My brethren & sisters, you have every reason to praise the Lord. Let praise flow from your lips - praise for what He has done for you. Let us never again fail to offer thanksgiving & praise to God for His goodness. All through the Psalms are words of praise & adoration; all through are exhortations to be joyful in the Lord. Let us catch the spirit of praise & thanksgiving. Forgetting our own difficulties & troubles, let us praise God for freedom from sin & for an opportunity to live for the glory of His name. 17LtMs, Ms 116, 1902
The youthful teacher who fears God will be instructed while instructing. And as thoughts of real value flash into his mind, let him offer thanksgiving to God, praising him as the One from whom all blessings flow, recognizing & acknowledging Him as the source of all true, noble thoughts. 2MR 223
Every time a soul is converted a miracle is wrought by the Holy Spirit of God, & for this we should give God continual praise. 10LtMs, Lt 99, 1895
At last the order to advance is given, & the countless host moves on, - an army such as was never summoned by earthly conquerors, such as the combined forces of all ages since war began could never equal. Satan, the mightiest of warriors, leads the van, & his angels join their forces for this final struggle. Kings & warriors are in his train, & the multitudes follow in vast companies, each army under its appointed leader. With military precision, the serried ranks advance over the earth's broken & uneven surface to the city of God. By the command of Jesus, the gates of the New Jerusalem are closed, & the armies of Satan surround the city, & make ready for the onset. Now Christ again appears to the view of his enemies. Far above the city, upon a foundation of burnished gold, is a throne, high & lifted up. Upon this throne sits the Son of God, & around him are the subjects of his kingdom. The power & majesty of Christ no language can describe, no pen portray. The glory of the Eternal Father is enshrouding his Son. The brightness of his presence fills the city of God, & flows out beyond the gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance. Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour with deep, intense devotion. Next are those who perfected Christian characters in the midst of falsehood & infidelity, those who honored the law of God when the Christian world declared it void, & the millions, of all ages, who were martyred for their faith. And beyond is the “great multitude which no man could number, of all nations & kindreds & people & tongues,” “before the throne & before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, & palms in their hands.” Their warfare is ended, their victory won. They have run the race & reached the prize. The palm branch in their hands is a symbol of their triumph, the white robe an emblem of the spotless righteousness of Christ which now is theirs. The redeemed raise a song of praise that echoes & re-echoes through the vaults of Heaven, “Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, & unto the Lamb.” And angel & seraph unite their voices in adoration. As the redeemed have beheld the power & malignity of Satan, they have seen, as never before, that no power but that of Christ could have made them conquerors. In all that shining throng there are none to ascribe salvation to themselves, as if they had prevailed by their own power & goodness. Nothing is said of what they have done or suffered; but the burden of every song, the keynote of every anthem, is, Salvation to our God & unto the Lamb. 4SP 479
If the people of God rightly appreciated the temporal & spiritual blessings which the Lord has poured upon them through Jesus Christ, continual praise would be upon their lips. We have had an experience in being relieved from spiritual bondage similar to that of the Israelites who were set free from the bondage of Egypt. 11LtMs, Ms 73, 1896
The earth itself, the very field that Satan claims as his, is to be not only ransomed but exalted. Our little world, under the curse of sin the one dark blot in His glorious creation, will be honored above all other worlds in the universe of God. Here, where the Son of God tabernacled in humanity; where the King of glory lived & suffered & died, - here, when He shall make all things new, the tabernacle of God shall be with men, “& He will dwell with them, & they shall be His people, & God Himself shall be with them, & be their God.” And through endless ages as the redeemed walk in the light of the Lord, they will praise Him for His unspeakable Gift. DA 26
We need to keep ever before us this vision of things unseen. It is thus that we shall be able to set a right value on the things of eternity & the things of time. It is this that will give us power to influence others for the higher life. MH 508