V - Quotes
... I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands… Isaiah 49:16
Every soul is as fully known to Jesus as if he were the only one for whom the Saviour died. The distress of every one touches His heart. The cry for aid reaches His ear. He came to draw all men unto Himself. He bids them, “Follow Me,” & His Spirit moves upon their hearts to draw them to come to Him. Many refuse to be drawn. Jesus knows who they are. He also knows who gladly hear His call, & are ready to come under His pastoral care. He says, “My sheep hear My voice, & I know them, & they follow Me.” He cares for each one as if there were not another on the face of the earth.
He calleth His own sheep by name, & leadeth them out.... And the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice.” The Eastern shepherd does not drive his sheep. He depends not upon force or fear; but going before, he calls them. They know his voice, & obey the call. So does the Saviour-Shepherd with His sheep. The Scripture says, “Thou leddest Thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses & Aaron.” Through the prophet, Jesus declares, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.”
As the shepherd goes before his sheep, himself first encountering the perils of the way, so does Jesus with His people. …The way to heaven is consecrated by the Saviour’s footprints. The path may be steep & rugged, but Jesus has traveled that way; His feet have pressed down the cruel thorns, to make the pathway easier for us. Every burden that we are called to bear He Himself has borne.
Through all our trials we have a never-failing Helper. He does not leave us alone to struggle with temptation, to battle with evil, & be finally crushed with burdens & sorrow. Though now He is hidden from mortal sight, the ear of faith can hear His voice saying, Fear not; I am with you. …I have endured your sorrows, experienced your struggles, encountered your temptations. I know your tears; I also have wept. The griefs that lie too deep to be breathed into any human ear, I know. Think not that you are desolate & forsaken. Though your pain touch no responsive chord in any heart on earth, look unto Me, & live. “The mountains shall depart, & the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.”
However much a shepherd may love his sheep, he loves his sons & daughters more. Jesus is not only our shepherd; He is our “everlasting Father.” And He says, “I know Mine own, & Mine own know Me, even as the Father knoweth Me, & I know the Father.” What a statement is this!—the only-begotten Son, He who is in the bosom of the Father, He whom God has declared to be “the Man that is My fellow,” —the communion between Him & the eternal God is taken to represent the communion between Christ & His children on the earth!
Because we are the gift of His Father, & the reward of His work, Jesus loves us. He loves us as His children. …He loves you. Heaven itself can bestow nothing greater, nothing better. Therefore trust.
“Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again.” That is, My Father has so loved you, that He even loves Me more for giving My life to redeem you. In becoming your substitute & surety, by surrendering My life, by taking your liabilities, your transgressions, I am endeared to My Father.
“I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, & I have power to take it again.” While as a member of the human family He was mortal, as God He was the fountain of life for the world. He could have withstood the advances of death, & refused to come under its dominion; but voluntarily He laid down His life, that He might bring life & immortality to light. He bore the sin of the world, endured its curse, yielded up His life as a sacrifice, that men might not eternally die. DA 480-484
Discouragement & gloom come upon us not because the truth is not sufficient for us, but because we do not bring it into our hearts, & let it have a controlling influence over our lives & actions…. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.” By the hand of faith let us grasp the promises of God, & be upon vantage ground. Then we shall be where Satan can not come near & say, “God can not help you. You have sinned, & you can not claim the promises.” The adversary would have us think that the way to life is so difficult that it will be impossible to reach the bliss of heaven. But God has placed us in circumstances where the very best of our natures may be developed, & where the highest faculties may be exercised. If we cultivate that which is good, the objectionable tendencies will not gain the supremacy, & at last we shall be accounted worthy to join the family above. But if we desire to be saints above, we must first be saints upon the earth. ST May 7, 1896
I tell you Jesus loves us although we err & are betrayed into sin. He will forgive us, He will pardon & that abundantly. Gather to your soul the sweet promises of God.
Jesus is our constant, unfailing friend, & He wants you to trust in Him. God is at work & Satan is at work. The Lord is working to save & Satan is working to destroy. The corruption that is in the world, all the unholy influences on every side are ever working on us to sink us to their low level. Satan would have our minds drawn away from the mighty Helper to pondering over our degradation of soul & feeling that all its substance is being wasted & God dishonored.
Look away from your wretchedness to the perfection of Christ. We cannot manufacture a righteousness for ourselves. Christ has in His hands the pure robes of righteousness, & He will put it upon us. He will speak sweet words of forgiveness & promises. And He presents to the thirsty soul fountains of living waters, whereby we may be refreshed. He bids us to come unto Him with all our burdens, all our griefs, & He says we shall find rest. We must therefore believe if we come to Him that He speaks pardon, & we must show our faith by resting in His love. The heart is moved by all that is tender & pure & lofty—high ambition, holy joys, ennobling motives, endearing sympathies, & needful help.
He sees the guilt of the past & He speaks pardon, & we must not dishonor Jesus by doubting His love. This feeling of guiltiness must be laid at the foot of the cross of Calvary. The sense of sinfulness has poisoned the springs of life & true happiness. Now Jesus says, Lay it all on Me; I will take your sin, I will give you peace. Destroy no longer your self-respect, for I have bought you with the price of My own blood. You are Mine, your weakened will I will strengthen, your remorse for sin I will remove. Then turn your grateful heart, trembling with uncertainty, & lay hold upon the hope set before you. God accepts your broken, contrite heart. He offers you free pardon. He offers to adopt you into His family with His grace to help your weakness, & the dear Jesus will lead you on step by step if you will only put your hand in His & let Him guide you. 5LtMs, Lt 38, 1887
This is the kind of experience that we should have. We must not think when we are afflicted that the anger of the Lord is upon us. God brings us into trials in order that we may be drawn near to Him. The Psalmist says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of them all.” He does not desire us to be under a cloud. We should pray as did the Psalmist, “Open thou my lips; & my mouth shall show forth Thy praise.” The Lord would have us lay hold of these promises for ourselves.
He does not desire us to go in anguish of spirit. We are not to look at the thorns & the thistles in our experience. We are to go into the garden of God’s Word, & pluck the lilies & roses & the fragrant pinks of His promises. Those who look upon the difficulties in their experience will talk doubt & discouragement, for they do not behold Jesus, the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world.
We should keep our minds upon the love, the mercy, & graciousness of our God, in order that we may become changed into His image by beholding the divine character. Thus joy will be brought into our experience, for we shall see by studying the Word of God that we are not left to our weakness, to our doubts, & that there is no occasion for sinking under discouragement. Talk faith, act faith. Cultivate the faith that works by love, & purifies the soul.
I have not always dwelt on the good things of God as I should have done; but I do not make it a practice to look on the dark side. This morning my heart was drawn away from the things that are seen & temporal, to the things that are unseen & eternal. I said, O God, I will pluck the roses & the lilies & the pinks. I will call upon the name of the Lord, I will take the cup of salvation.
My dear friend, do you not think that if we humbly call upon the Father, even as a child calls upon its parent, He will hear us, & will answer our petitions? Do you think God will leave us in this dark world of corruption without strength, to lift our burdens ourselves, & to rise up alone above the discouragements of this dark [world without the] resources of divine help?
It is no sign that Jesus has ceased to love us because we experience doubts & discouragements. Affliction comes to us in the providence of God, in order that we may see that Christ is our helper, that in Him is love & consolation. We may receive grace whereby we may be overcomers, & inherit the life that measures with the life of God. We must have an experience so that when affliction comes upon us, we shall not depart from our faith, & choose fables.
We should be in a position where we may believe that God is willing to do for us more than we can ask or think.
How foolish it would be to go into a cellar & mourn because we were in the dark. If we want light we must come up into a higher room. It is our privilege to come into the light, to come into the presence of God. We are to come to Him confessing our sins, & believing in His promise that we should be cleansed from all unrighteousness. 10LtMs, Lt 97, 1895
The Bible should never be studied without prayer. The Holy Spirit alone can cause us to feel the importance of those things easy to be understood, or prevent us from wresting truths difficult of comprehension. It is the office of heavenly angels to prepare the heart so to comprehend God’s word that we shall be charmed with its beauty, admonished by its warnings, or animated & strengthened by its promises. We should make the psalmist’s petition our own: “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.” Temptations often appear irresistible because, through neglect of prayer & the study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God’s promises & meet Satan with the Scripture weapons. But angels are round about those who are willing to be taught in divine things; & in the time of great necessity they will bring to their remembrance the very truths which are needed. Thus “when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” GC 599
The Holy Spirit was promised to be with those who were wrestling for victory, demonstrating the power of might by endowing the human agent with supernatural strength, & instructing the ignorant in the mysteries of the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit is to be our helper. Of what avail would it have been to us that the only-begotten Son of God had humbled Himself, endured the temptations of the wily foe, & wrestled with him during His entire life on earth, & died, the just for the unjust, that humanity might not perish, if the Spirit had not been given as a constant working, regenerating agent to make effectual in our cases what had been wrought by the world’s Redeemer?
The Holy Spirit implanted in the disciples enabled them to stand firmly against idolatry, & to exalt the Lord alone. The Holy Spirit guided the pens of the sacred historians that the record of the precious words & works of Christ might be presented to the world. The Holy Spirit is constantly at work seeking to draw the attention of men to the great sacrifice made upon the cross of Calvary, to unfold to the world the love of God to man, & to open to the convicted soul the precious promises in the Scriptures. It is the Holy Spirit that brings to the darkened minds the bright beams of the Sun of righteousness. It is the Holy Spirit that makes men’s hearts burn within them with an awakened intelligence of the truths of eternity. It is the Holy Spirit that presents before the mind the moral standard of righteousness & convinces of sin. It is the Holy Spirit that produces godly sorrow which worketh repentance that needeth not to be repented of, & inspires faith in Him who alone can save from all sin. It is the Holy Spirit that works to transform character by withdrawing the affections of men from those things which are temporal & perishable, & fixing them upon the immortal inheritance, the eternal substance which is imperishable. The Holy Spirit re-creates, refines, & sanctifies the human agents, that they may become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. ST Apr 17 1893
The standard which He uplifts is His law. Those who work righteousness have an ever-present Friend to help them. In every time of need & trouble & perplexity He is near them. When they are tempted He presents Himself as their defense, saying, “I will guide thee with Mine eye. I will deliver thee from perplexity, & be a covert for thee against the strife of tongues.” TDG 199
Often the tempted one does not realize that he has unseen, heavenly agencies working in his behalf; but this is so. When we feel our personal weakness, when we depend on Christ, & not on self, we have done what we can. Then the heavenly intelligences are ready to lift up a standard for us against the enemy, saying to the Satanic agencies, “Thus far shalt thou go, & no farther.” At such times if words were to pass from Christ to us, they would be, spoken gently & sympathisingly, “Abide in my love. Be of good cheer. Thou art in Christ’s heart; thou art not alone.” ST Nov. 11, 1897
We need to exercise faith, that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord will lift up a standard for us against him. SD 196
One day alone is ours, & during this day we are to live for God. For this one day we are to place in the hand of Christ, in solemn service, all our purposes & plans, casting all our care upon Him, for He careth for us. “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, & not of evil, to give you an expected end.” “In returning & rest shall ye be saved; in quietness & in confidence shall be your strength.”
If you will seek the Lord & be converted every day; if you will of your own spiritual choice be free & joyous in God; if with gladsome consent of heart to His gracious call you come wearing the yoke of Christ,—the yoke of obedience & service, —all your murmurings will be stilled, all your difficulties will be removed, all the perplexing problems that now confront you will be solved. MB 101
Let us not make ourselves miserable over tomorrow's burdens. Bravely & cheerfully carry the burdens of today. Today's trust & faith we must have. But we are not asked to live more than a day at a time. He who gives strength for today will give strength for tomorrow. 2MCP 473
In the light of the Saviour’s life, the hearts of all, even from the Creator to the prince of darkness, are revealed. Satan has represented God as selfish & oppressive, as claiming all, & giving nothing, as requiring the service of His creatures for His own glory, & making no sacrifice for their good. But the gift of Christ reveals the Father’s heart. It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are “thoughts of peace, & not of evil.” It declares that while God’s hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death. Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, & laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, & says, All these are for mankind. Use these gifts to convince them that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. Their greatest happiness will be found in loving Me. HB 63
In brier & thorn, in thistle & tare, is represented the evil that blights & mars. In singing bird & opening blossom, in rain & sunshine, in summer breeze & gentle dew, in ten thousand objects in nature, from the oak of the forest to the violet that blossoms at its root, is seen the love that restores. And nature still speaks to us of God's goodness.
“I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, & not of evil.” This is the message that, in the light from the cross, may be read upon all the face of nature. The heavens declare His glory, & the earth is full of His riches. Ed 101
It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour's matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross, & the sight of Him attracts, it softens & subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, & they follow Him.
Though now He has ascended to the presence of God, & shares the throne of the universe, Jesus has lost none of His compassionate nature. Today the same tender, sympathizing heart is open to all the woes of humanity. Today the hand that was pierced is reached for to bless more abundantly His people that are in the world. “And they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
The soul that has given himself to Christ is more precious in His sight than the whole world. The Saviour would have passed through the agony of Calvary that one might be saved in His kingdom. He will never abandon one for whom He has died. Unless His followers choose to leave Him, He will hold them fast. LHU 204
While the sinner is yet far from the Father's house, wasting his substance in a strange country, the Father's heart is yearning over him; & every longing awakened in the soul to return to God is but the tender pleading of His Spirit, wooing, entreating, drawing the wanderer to his Father's heart of love.
But even this parable, tender & touching as it is, comes short of expressing the infinite compassion of the heavenly Father. ...
With the rich promises of the Bible before you, can you give place to doubt? ...He hates sin, but He loves the sinner, & He gave Himself in the person of Christ, that all who would might be saved & have eternal blessedness in the kingdom of glory. What stronger or more tender language could have been employed than He has chosen in which to express His love toward us? ...
As you read the promises, remember they are the expression of unutterable love & pity. The great heart of Infinite Love is drawn toward the sinner with boundless compassion…. Yes, only believe that God is your helper. He wants to restore His moral image in man. SC 54-55
The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Study day & night the character of Christ. It was His tender compassion, His inexpressible, unparalleled love for your soul, that led Him to endure all the shame, the revilings, the abuse, the misapprehensions of earth. Approach nearer Him, behold His hands & His feet, bruised & wounded for our transgressions. “The chastisement of our peace was upon him; & with his stripes we are healed. TMK 56
In viewing the holiness & glory of the God of the universe, we are terrified, for we know that His justice will not permit Him to clear the guilty. But we need not remain in terror; for Christ came to the world to reveal the character of God, to make plain to us His paternal love toward His adopted children. We are not to estimate the character of God by the stupendous works of nature alone, but by the simple, lovely life of Jesus, who presented Jehovah as more merciful, more compassionate, more tender, than our earthly parents.
Jesus presented the Father as one to whom we could give our confidence & present our wants. When we are in terror of God, & overwhelmed with the thought of His glory & majesty, the Father points us to Christ as His representative. What you see revealed in Jesus, of tenderness, compassion, & love, is the reflection of the attributes of the Father. The cross of Calvary reveals to man the love of God. Christ represents the Sovereign of the universe as a God of love...
We have access to God through the merits of the name of Christ, & God invites us to bring to Him our trials & temptations; for He understands them all. He would not have us pour out our woes to human ears. Through the blood of Christ we may come to the throne of grace & find grace to help in time of need. We may come with assurance, saying, “My acceptance is in the Beloved.” “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” “In whom we have boldness & access with confidence by the faith of him.”
As an earthly parent encourages his child to come to him at all times, so the Lord encourages us to lay before Him our wants & perplexities, our gratitude & love. Every promise is sure. Jesus is our Surety & Mediator, & has placed at our command every resource, that we may have a perfect character. HP 18
The Lord of life & glory clothed His divinity with humanity to demonstrate to man that God through the gift of Christ would connect us with Him. Without a connection with God no one can possibly be happy. Fallen man is to learn that our Heavenly Father cannot be satisfied until His love embraces the repentant sinner, transformed through the merits of the spotless Lamb of God. ...
In all the gracious deeds that Jesus did, He sought to impress upon men the parental, benevolent attributes of God.... Jesus would have us understand the love of the Father, & He seeks to draw us to Him by presenting His parental grace. He would have the whole field of our vision filled with the perfection of God's character.... It was only by living among men that He could reveal the mercy, compassion, & love of His heavenly Father; for it was only by actions of benevolence that He could set forth the grace of God. AG 99
Those who love God do that which is pleasant for them to do, & that is to reveal God in character, & submit the whole heart to the sanctification of the truth. PHO48 43
A new heart also will I give you, & a new spirit will I put within you… Ezekiel 36:26
One of the most earnest prayers in the Inspired Word is, “Create in me a clean heart, O God;” & from One who loved us & gave His life for us comes the great & important assurance, “A new heart also will I give you.” TMK 129
The Spirit of God, with its vivifying power, must be in every human agent, that every spiritual muscle & sinew may be in exercise. Without the Holy Spirit, without the breath of God, there is torpidity of conscience, loss of spiritual life. Many who are without spiritual life have their names on the church records, but they are not written in the Lamb’s book of life. They may be joined to the church, but they are not united to the Lord. They may be diligent in the performance of a certain set of duties, & may be regarded as living men; but many are among those who “have a name that thou livest, & art dead.” Unless there is genuine conversion of the soul to God; unless the vital breath of God quickens the soul to spiritual life; unless the professors of truth are actuated by heaven-born principle, they are not born of the incorruptible seed which liveth & abideth forever. Unless they trust in the righteousness of Christ as their only security; unless they copy his character, labor in his spirit, they are naked, they have not on the robe of his righteousness. The dead are often made to pass for the living; for those who are working out what they term salvation after their own ideas, have not God working in them to will & to do of his good pleasure.
This class is well represented by the valley of dry bones Ezekiel saw in vision. Those who have had committed to them the treasures of truth, & yet who are dead in trespasses & sin, need to be created anew in Christ Jesus. From the time that converts come together in church capacity, they should be educated to take up such lines of work as will not only benefit their own souls, but the souls of others. RH Jan. 17, 1893
You have confessed your sins, & in heart put them away. You have resolved to give yourself to God. Now go to Him, & ask that He will wash away your sins & give you a new heart. Then believe that He does this because He has promised.
This is the lesson which Jesus taught while He was on earth, that the gift which God promises us, we must believe we do receive, & it is ours. Jesus healed the people of their diseases when they had faith in His power; He helped them in the things which they could see, thus inspiring them with confidence in Him concerning things which they could not see—leading them to believe in His power to forgive sins.... CSA 29-30
Those who are truly converted are born again. …Provision is made by God himself for every soul that turns to the Lord, to receive his immediate co-operation. The Holy Spirit becomes his efficiency. Faith in Christ is our only hope of salvation. The work of every true Christian is to set forth Christ & him crucified. “Ye are the light of the world,” Christ said. What constitutes God’s people lights in the world?—Abiding in Christ. Doing this, they can co-operate with him in the grand work of winning souls from darkness to light. RH Mar. 22, 1898
Those who appreciate this great sacrifice receive from the Saviour that most precious of all gifts—a clean heart. HP 7
After being fitted for their mission by the descent of the Holy Ghost, the disciples were to proclaim pardon for sin, & salvation through repentance, & the merits of a crucified & risen Saviour, & to reveal the principles of the kingdom of Christ, beginning at Jerusalem, & from thence extending their labors throughout Judea, & into Samaria, & finally to the uttermost parts of the earth. Here is a lesson to all who have a message of truth to give to the world: Their own hearts must first be imbued with the Spirit of God, & their labors should commence at home; their families should have the benefit of their influence; & the transforming power of the Spirit of God should be demonstrated in their own homes by a well-disciplined family. Then the circle should widen; the whole neighborhood should perceive the interest felt for their salvation, & the light of truth should be faithfully presented to them; for their salvation is of as much importance as that of persons at a distance. From the immediate neighborhood, & adjoining cities & towns, the circle of the labors of God’s servants should widen, till the message of truth is given to the uttermost parts of the earth.
This was the order which Christ instituted for the labors of his disciples; but it is frequently reversed by the evangelical workers of this time. They neglect the inner circle; it is not felt to be a necessity that the quickening influence of the Spirit of God should first operate upon their own hearts, & sanctify & ennoble their lives. The simplest duties, lying directly in their path, are neglected for some wider & more distant field, where their labors are frequently expended in vain. Whereas in a field easier of access they would have labored with success, & encountered fewer trials, gaining influence & new courage as the way opened & broadened before them. 3SP 240-241
When Jesus speaks of the new heart, He means the mind, the life, the whole being. To have a change of heart is to withdraw the affections from the world, & fasten them upon Christ. To have a new heart is to have a new mind, new purposes, new motives. What is the sign of a new heart? A changed life. There is a daily, hourly dying to selfishness & pride. BLJ 356
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Matthew 6:34
If you have given yourself to God, to do His work, you have no need to be anxious for tomorrow. He whose servant you are, knows the end from the beginning. The events of tomorrow, which are hidden from your view, are open to the eyes of Him who is omnipotent.
When we take into our hands the management of things with which we have to do, & depend upon our own wisdom for success, we are taking a burden which God has not given us, & are trying to bear it without His aid. We are taking upon ourselves the responsibility that belongs to God, & thus are really putting ourselves in His place. We may well have anxiety & anticipate danger & loss, for it is certain to befall us. But when we really believe that God loves us & means to do us good we shall cease to worry about the future. We shall trust God as a child trusts a loving parent. Then our troubles & torments will disappear, for our will is swallowed up in the will of God.
Christ has given us no promise of help in bearing today the burdens of tomorrow. He has said, “My grace is sufficient for thee”; but, like the manna given in the wilderness, His grace is bestowed daily, for the day's need. Like the hosts of Israel in their pilgrim life, we may find morning by morning the bread of heaven for the day's supply. MB 100-101