The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Psalm 19:7.

We may with profit study the record of the preparation made by the congregation of Israel for the hearing of the law….

The law of God is a transcript of His character. Its holy precepts were spoken from Sinai with God’s own voice, and written with His finger upon tables of stone. They stand forth alone, bearing the distinct, awful significance of their supreme importance. They mean life to the obedient and death to the disobedient. Through the ages God’s law has been preserved as the highest standard of morality. Not all the inventions of science or the imaginations of fruitful minds have been able to discover one essential duty not covered by this code.

God’s law is the security of life and property and peace and happiness. It was given to secure our present and eternal good. The antediluvians transgressed this law, and the earth was destroyed by a flood.

Let no man, by scientific presentations, lead minds away from the real to the imaginary. Let God be revealed in His true greatness. God calls for men who, in the midst of the idolatry offered to nature, will look from nature to nature’s God. God uses nature as one of His servants, to reveal His power. These things, the objects of His creation, show forth His handiwork. Of all that God has created, man, the crowning object of His creation, has the most greatly dishonored Him. In the judgment human beings will stand before God ashamed and condemned, because, though given intellect, reason, and power of speech, they would not obey God’s law….

Satan has his students, and he is teaching them his methods of secrecy; teaching them how to do underhanded work. His family is large. In his hands, crime has become a cruel science. To destroy is the motto of the archdeceiver. Satan has laid many snares for unwary souls. There are those who have so long responded to his ingenious plans that they now seem to have no power to break the spell that is upon them.

When the leaders of God’s people depart from principle, and bring dishonor on His cause, their sin is greater than the sin of those whose opportunities and privileges have been fewer….

A man is but a man. The words that fall from his lips are not to be regarded as coming from God. Unless God stands beside those in His service, and works with them, they are nothingness. For God’s people to put their trust in men and make flesh their arm is the height of folly.—Manuscript 119, October 7, 1903, “Lessons From Israel.”

From The Upward Look – Page 294

Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 1 Corinthians 5:6.

I have had presented to me how the leaven of evil will work. Satan has come down in great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time in which to work. He will work with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. Those who in their past experience have had great light but have not cherished that light nor purified their souls by obeying the truth will meet with great loss….

The spirit of antichrist is developing rapidly. Soon there will be a time when those who follow their own human nature, who manifest a love for supremacy, will be found to be on the losing side. The Lord has abased kings, and He will say to all who, while professing to serve Him, … make a display and depart from His counsel: “What doest thou to declare My law, while thou thyself livest in transgression?” …

Let everyone who considers it is his privilege to do as he pleases remember that the Lord will allow him to have his way, but he will be brought through bitter experiences. It is the truth, my brethren, that we all need, the truth that works by love and purifies the soul….

Has God made the world, and then left it entirely to the jurisdiction of men? Has He retired from the scene of action, and left it to the domination of human agencies? How can it be that among those who profess to obey Him and to serve Him, there shall be strife and variance? What a terrible thing [it] is [for] sin to intrude itself, to manifest itself in apostasy, rebellion, and discord in God’s fair domain! …

The Lord created all the heavenly intelligences. Lucifer, exalted to be a beautiful, glorious being in the heavenly courts, brought in jealousy [and] evil surmising because he himself was not in the position of God. He declared that man was bound and fettered if he made God first and last and best in everything. God had not previously been obliged to speak of allegiance to His laws, for there had been no occasion for the least disaffection till it was introduced by Satan.

We still see the deceptive working of Satan on every side. God would have us plant our feet firmly upon the platform of His truth, that we may not be deceived by … [Satan’s] wonderful representations. In the rock Christ Jesus is our only safety.—Letter 310, October 6, 1906, to “Brother [W. D.] Salisbury and Those Connected With the Echo Publishing Company,” in Australia.

From The Upward Look – Page 293

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:7.

Those who work against the natural laws of the being must suffer the penalty of transgression. But the Saviour pities us, even when we suffer from infirmities caused by our own wrong course of action. In Him there is a healing power for us. Let us praise God for the tree of life, the leaves of which are for the healing of the nations….

Everywhere the effects of the curse are seen. Let us praise God that in the earth made new “there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him” (Revelation 22:3). Some little know what true service means. Those who expect to sing in an entertainment spend time in practicing, to familiarize themselves with the music and the words. That we may learn how to serve the Lord in heaven, we must enter His service now, becoming acquainted with Him and learning to be faithful servants….

It is our privilege to understand the blessed Word of God. We have fallen, it is true, but we are not always to remain in sin. We have been placed on vantage ground. The Lord God of heaven “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). What a precious hope we have in Christ! …

Temptations will come. But when Satan throws his hellish shadow before us, we should reach in faith through the shadow to the light of life—to Him who has not only created man but who by His own blood has redeemed him. We are Christ’s cherished heritage. In living faith we must cooperate with Him in working out our own salvation. Amid trials and temptations His hand upholds and sustains us. Those who rest in Christ Jesus are never restless or uneasy. He means just what He says when He bids us commit the keeping of our souls unto Him, as to a faithful Creator.

Those who hold fast their faith unto the end will come forth from the furnace of trial as fine gold seven times purified. Of this work the prophet Isaiah says, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir” (Isaiah 13:12). When in trouble, remember that faith tried in the furnace of affliction is more precious than gold tried with fire. Remember that there is One watching every movement, to see when the last particle of dross is taken away from your character.—Manuscript 110, October 5, 1901, “The Christian’s Hope.”

From The Upward Look – Page 292

Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? Luke 19:23.

Our lifetime is precious, and every action should be considered. It has been granted us that we might accomplish a work that will be acknowledged by the Lord as good, enduring as eternity, if we will lay hold of it in the right spirit. It is an intensely solemn thing to live in view of the account we must render to God of our time, our talents, and our influence….

In the use of the talents entrusted to him, no man is called by God to lay off his individual responsibility [so] that another man may do his trading for him. To every man God has given his work, and man is accountable to God for how that work is done….

We are not called upon to give account of our talents to man, but to God. Our mind, our judgment, our tact, our wisdom—all are given to us of God, to be improved for Him; and it is God who will call us to account for the way in which we have used His gifts….

The period of life in every case is beset with temptations, and it is through faith in Jesus Christ alone that we shall find grace to help in every time of need. But each worker has a life to live, a character to form. Each period of life brings with the passing years some special opportunities for work; and each advancing year must be made use of, improved to the very best of human capability. This, with the aid of divine agencies, will show improvement, advancement onward and upward, walking step by step in a safe path heavenward.

Each day, each hour of life, from childhood to youth, from youth to middle age, and onward to old age, our life history is being as faithfully recorded in the books of heaven as the polished plate of the artist reflects the features of the sitter. Each day, each hour, brings with it advantages which the human agent must improve. We cannot afford to lose a moment by doing careless work for the Lord. We must use our entrusted talents with fidelity, that earnest, honest, pure, clean work may bring glory to God. Nothing less will be accepted by Him. Our work in this world is to reveal the pure principles that are current in heaven. This is the only kind of work that will be acknowledged in the courts of heaven, and accepted as pure and holy by the Lord.—Manuscript 28, October 4, 1896, “To Those Concerned in Publishing Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing.”

From The Upward Look – Page 291

And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 1 John 3:22.

For a long time I have seen the danger that was coming into our ranks in the tendency to look to human wisdom and to depend on human guidance. This will always prove a snare to souls, and I am bidden to lift the danger signal, warning my fellow workers against it, and pointing them to the Lord Jesus. The man or woman who leans upon the wisdom of the human mind leans on a broken reed.

I am instructed to point those who are in need of wisdom to the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world…. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (James 1:5-8, 12).

“Ask, and it shall be given you,” the Saviour declared; “seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7, 8)….

Never should a worker encourage one who is in need of instruction and help to go first to human agencies for an understanding of his duty…. It is a wrong education to teach our people to lean on human aids, instead of going to the Lord in prayer. The enemy of souls has been the instigator of this, that minds might become obscured…. Those who bear responsibilities in the work are to cooperate with heavenly angels in teaching men and women to look to God as the source of their strength….

Consecrate yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ. Seek the One who understands your every weakness, and who never makes a mistake. He is able to impart to you His rich grace. Looking unto Jesus, studying His Word, learn to humble your soul before God and to wrestle in prayer with Him….

Christ ever manifested a heavenly courtesy in dealing with human souls. His life was a life of constant self-denial and self-sacrifice. Those who are numbered with the overcomers will be those who have practiced the virtues of Christ.—Letter 324, October 3, 1907, to a church administrator.

From The Upward Look – Page 290