The Word and Works of God

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God calls upon teachers to behold the heavens and to study His works in nature. «The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.» Psalm 19:1-3. Shall we not strive to understand the wonderful works of God? We should do well to read often the nineteenth psalm, that we may understand how the Lord binds up His law with His created works.

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Can we find for our schools any textbook filled with such deep, earnest declarations as is the word of the living God? Then why should this Book be laid aside for the writings of infidel authors? What more valuable book could be placed in the hands of students than that which teaches them how they may inherit eternal life? The lessons of Bible history should be kept before the youth in our schools, that those who have no love for God and no interest in spiritual things may become interested, and learn to love the word.

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Christ is the center of all true doctrine. All true religion is found in His word and in nature. He is the One in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered; and the teacher who learns from Him finds a safe anchorage.

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All that the mind can grasp is opened before us in the Bible. This is our spiritual food. We are to contemplate the wonderful works of God and repeat to our children the lessons learned, that we may lead them to see His skill, His power, and His grandeur in His created works.

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What a God is our God! He rules over His kingdom with diligence and care, and He has built a hedge— the Ten Commandments—about His subjects to preserve them from the results of transgression. In requiring obedience to the laws of His kingdom, God gives His people health and happiness, peace and joy. He teaches them that the perfection of character He requires can be attained only by becoming familiar with His word.

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It is written in the prophets: «O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.» Isaiah 54:11-14.

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«This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.» Jeremiah 31:33, 34.

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«And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.» Micah 4:2.

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The Old Testament Scriptures were the lesson book of Israel…. There are practical lessons in the word of God, lessons that Christ would have teachers and parents present to the children in the school and in the home. That word teaches living, holy principles, which prompt men to do unto others as they would have others do unto them—principles which they are to bring into the daily life here below, and carry with them into the school above. This is the higher education. No learning of human origin can gain these heights; for they reach into eternity, and are immortalized. We know altogether too little of the greatness of the love and compassion of God.

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Let students put to the stretch their mental faculties, that they may comprehend the forty-fifth chapter of Isaiah. Such chapters as this should be brought into our schools as a valuable study. They are better than romance and fables. Why have our schools been so dependent upon books which tell so little of the city we claim to be seeking, whose builder and maker is God? Our lesson books should contain the loftiest themes of thought. Heaven is our home. Our citizenship is above, and our lives must not be devoted to a world that is soon to be destroyed….

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Take the Bible as a study book, and see if you are not filled with the love of God. Your heart may be barren, 456 your intellect feeble; but if you will prayerfully study the word of God, light will flash into your mind. God works with every diligent student. Teachers who will learn from the Great Teacher will realize the help of God as did Daniel and his fellows, of whom the record states, «As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.» Daniel 1:17….

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I could refer to chapter after chapter of the Old Testament Scriptures that contain great encouragement. These Scriptures are a treasure house of precious pearls, and all need them. How much time is spent by intelligent human beings in horse racing, cricket matches, and ball playing! But will indulgence in these sports give men a desire to know truth and righteousness? Will it keep God in their thoughts? Will it lead them to inquire, How is it with my soul?

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All the powers of Satan are set in operation to hold the attention to frivolous amusements, and he is gaining his object. He is interposing his devisings between God and the soul. He will manufacture diversions to keep men from thinking about God. The world, filled with sport and pleasure loving, is always thirsting for some new interest; but how little time and thought are given to the Creator of the heavens and the earth!

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God calls upon men to see Him in the wonders of the heavens. «Lift up your eyes on high,» He says, «and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might,» Isaiah 40:26. God would have us study the works of infinity, and from this study learn to love and reverence and obey Him. The heavens and the earth with their treasures are to teach the lessons of God’s love and care and power.

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God calls upon His creatures to turn their attention from the confusion and perplexity around them and admire His handiwork. As we study His works, angels from heaven will be by our side to enlighten our minds and guard them from Satan’s deceptions. As you look at the wonderful things that God’s hand has made, let your proud, foolish heart feel its dependence and inferiority. How terrible it is when the acknowledgment of God is not made when it should be made! How sad to humble oneself when it is too late!

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The psalmist declares, «When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.» Psalm 27:8. The whole of this psalm should find a place in the reading and spelling lessons of the school. The twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, and seventy-eighth psalms tell of the rich blessings bestowed by God upon His people and of their poor returns for all His benefits. The eighty-first psalm explains why Israel was scattered—they forgot God, as the churches in our land are forgetting Him today. Consider also the eighty-ninth, ninetieth, ninety-first, ninety-second, and ninety-third psalms.

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These things were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come; and should they not be studied in our schools? The word of God contains instructive lessons, given in reproof, in warning, in encouragement, and in rich promises. Would not such food as this be meat in due season to the youth?

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An Impressive Representation In a night vision given me some years ago I was in an assembly where our school problems were being discussed, and the question was asked, «Why has not appropriate matter for reading books and other lesson books been selected and compiled? Why has not the word of God been extolled above every human production? Have you thought that a better knowledge of what the Lord hath said would have a deleterious effect on teachers and students?»

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There was a hush in the assembly, and conviction came to students and teachers. Men who had looked upon themselves as wise and strong saw that they were weak and lacking in the knowledge of that Book which concerns the eternal destiny of the human soul.

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The Speaker then took from the hands of the teachers books which they had been making their study, some of which had been written by infidel authors and contained infidel sentiments, and laid them on the floor. Then He placed the Bible in their hands, saying, «You have little knowledge of this Book. You know not the Scriptures nor the power of God. When you have taken your students through the course of study you have followed in the past, they will have to unlearn much that they have learned, and this they will find very difficult to do. Objectionable ideas have taken root in their minds, like weeds in a garden, and some will never be able to distinguish between right and wrong. The good and the evil have been intermingled in your work. Doctrines containing a little truth, but with which are woven the opinions and sayings and doings of men, are repeated. The youth will never know the way of life so long as they depend on such instruction.»

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By every teacher in our schools the only true God is to be uplifted. The prayer of Christ for His disciples was: «I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world: Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are of Thee. For I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send Me.» John 17:4-8.

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Who among our teachers are awake and as faithful stewards of the grace of God are giving the trumpet a certain sound? Who are voicing the message of the third angel, calling upon the world to make ready for the great day of God? The message we bear has the seal of the living God. July 20, 1899.