Here is the wording on the picture, followed by context for the quotes (all-caps added for emphasis):
“‘… CHRIST the same yesterday, and today, and forever,’ promises, ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.’ Yes, this God IS OUR GOD forever and ever.” (The Signs of the Times, January 6, 1888, “The Wisdom of the People of God,” par. 10, by Ellen G. White)
“The righteous, as they behold CHRIST at His coming, will exclaim, ‘Lo, this IS OUR GOD; we have waited for Him, and He will save us.’ Isaiah 25:9.” (The Story of Jesus, p. 180, by Ellen G. White)
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“We are the Israel that God is leading out of the errors of the world in these last days to live by every word that proceedeth out of his mouth. The truth for this time will not fail to sanctify the soul that receives the love of it and obeys it from the heart. It will enable us to overcome every besetting sin, and to surmount every difficulty in our onward march. We can run and not be weary, walk and not faint.
“‘Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’
“The wisdom and understanding of ancient Israel before all the nations, was their obedience to God’s law. This doing of God’s commandments worked an elevation of character and life that even the heathen world recognized and commended. Those who have rendered obedience to God in all ages, have been transformed in character, and in these last days, when iniquity abounds on every hand, our wisdom and understanding before all people will consist in our obedience to the standard of righteousness. The servants of God will not be foolish, ignorant, uncourteous, and coarse; but as they conform their lives to the holy laws of Heaven, they become like Jesus Christ, who was a living example of perfect obedience to the statutes of Jehovah. They will become refined, ennobled, elevated, and will manifest that courtesy that forgets the interests of self, that others may be blessed and benefited.
“The follower of Jesus will place his will on the side of his Master’s will. He will have a consciousness of the nearness of God’s presence. Doubts will vanish before the beams of the Sun of Righteousness, as the shadows fly before the morning. The true Christian identifies his interest with the interest of Christ, wears the yoke of his Master, lifts his burden, bears his reproach; but no murmur escapes his lips. No, he rejoices that he is counted worthy to suffer for His sake who suffered for him. You may expect complaint, but you will hear only the language of thanksgiving from Christ’s burden-bearers. They do not bear the load alone; for He whom their soul loveth, walks with them, and the heaviest weight is borne by his loving and mighty heart. Those who come to Christ, weary and heavy-laden, find rest unto their souls. Those who learn of him and take his yoke upon them, find that his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. ‘Jesus CHRIST THE SAME YESTERDAY, AND TODAY, AND FOREVER,’ PROMISES, ‘LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAY, EVEN UNTO THE END OF THE WORLD.’ YES, THIS GOD IS OUR GOD FOREVER AND EVER. Then why should we chafe and fret under the commandments of our God? He who leadeth us and teacheth us to profit, declares, ‘I have kept my Father’s commandments;’ and those who follow Christ will do as he has done. Their steps will fall in his foot-prints all along the path of obedience that he has trodden before them as their example. The law of our God ‘is holy, and just, and good,’ and it is to our highest interest that we come into perfect harmony with its precepts. It is ordained unto life. The world knows that it is wisdom to serve the God of Heaven. However reluctant men may be to acknowledge it, they look upon the obedient children of God as favored of Heaven.
“Moses asks: ‘For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but teach them thy sons, and thy son’s sons.’
“Here is the solemn charge that was given to ancient Israel, and it comes echoing down the ages to us, with accumulated force; for we are under greater obligation and increased responsibility, because we have the record of their experiences to teach us to avoid their errors and profit by their mistakes. Their departures from God, their backslidings, their murmuring, their sins ‘are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.’ The judgment of God in the destruction of the guilty is marked before us, that we may take heed to the warnings, and escape from the paths of transgression. The rich rewards and blessings bestowed upon the obedient are recorded as encouragements to those who will follow the way of the Lord and delight in his testimonies.
“In the commendation of God to the faithful among ancient Israel, is unmistakable evidence that he highly appreciates those who are peculiar in character, because they render perfect obedience to his holy laws. The spiritual excellency of these people is manifested in their words and works. They are branches of the living vine, and partakers of the divine nature.
“Like seeks like. Like appreciates like. Christ recognizes his own Spirit and image in his followers. As they become more like him, they seek a closer association with him. His character shines with new attractions. They see matchless charms in their Redeemer, and he becomes ‘the chiefest among ten thousand,’ and the one ‘altogether lovely.’ His ways are precious to them, and it is their delight to do his will.
“The words of Jesus test the profession we make. He declares: ‘He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. . . . If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.’ ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever: even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.’
“The conditions and promises are the same in the Old Testament as they are in the New. The favor of God is promised only to those who obey him. ‘If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love,’ says the Master. If we would claim the rich promises, if we would have the pardon of our sins, and eternal life at last, we must yield a royal service to the God of Heaven. In our faithful performance of his requirements consists our prosperity as a church and as individuals. Not in great talents, not in great possessions, not in grand appearances, but in humble service to our Maker is our strength, wisdom, and understanding.
“We must not take a feeble, vacillating course; but with unchangeable purpose, place our wills on the side of God’s will, become rich in faith, rich in the knowledge of his word, and rich in the power of his Spirit. If we do those things that are pleasing in the sight of our God, we may hold the keys of the invisible world. We may unlock Heaven’s storehouses, and draw upon their inestimable treasures.
“Then let none of us entertain the thought that it is of little moment whether we heed the commandments of God, or pass them by with indifference. When the great books of Judgment are opened, and the motives of every heart are laid bare, there will be no excuse for those who trifle with God’s plain words. ‘The wages of sin is death.’ This is the awful and inevitable sentence pronounced upon the transgressor. But the righteous shall enter into life. Says the Son of God, ‘Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.’” (The Signs of the Times, January 6, 1888 issue, article title: “The Wisdom of the People of God,” pars. 7-18, by Ellen G. White)
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“The Day of Christ’s coming is a day of judgment upon the world.
“The Scriptures declare, ‘Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all.’ Jude 14.
“‘Before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.’ Matthew 25:32.
“But before that day, God warns men of what is coming. He has always given men warning of coming judgments. Some believed the warning and obeyed the word of God. These escaped the judgments that fell upon the disobedient and unbelieving.
“Before He destroyed the world by a flood, God commanded Noah, ‘Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me.’ Genesis 7:1. Noah obeyed and was saved. Before the destruction of Sodom, angels brought to Lot the message, ‘Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city.’ Genesis 19:14. Lot heeded the warning and was saved.
“So now we are warned of Christ’s second coming and of the destruction that is to fall upon the world, and all who heed the warning will be saved.
“THE RIGHTEOUS, AS THEY BEHOLD CHRIST AT HIS COMING, WILL EXCLAIM, ‘LO, THIS IS OUR GOD; WE HAVE WAITED FOR HIM, AND HE WILL SAVE US.’ ISAIAH 25:9.
“Because we know not the exact time of His coming we are commanded to watch. ‘Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching.’ Luke 12:37.
“Those who watch for the Lord’s coming are not to wait in idleness. The expectation of Christ’s coming is to make men fear God’s judgments upon transgression. It is to awaken them to repentance for their sins in breaking His commandments.
“While we watch for the Lord’s coming, we are to be diligently working. To know that He is at the door, should lead us to work more earnestly for the salvation of our fellow men. As Noah gave the warning from God to the people before the flood, so all who understand the word of God are to give warning to the people of this time.
“‘But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.’ Matthew 24:37-39.
“The people of Noah’s day abused the gifts of God. Their eating and drinking led to gluttony and drunkenness.
“They forgot God, and gave themselves up to every vile and abominable deed.
“‘God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.’ Genesis 6:5. It was because of their wickedness that the people of that time were destroyed.
“Men are doing the same things today. Gluttony, intemperance, untamable passions, evil practices, are filling the earth with wickedness.
“In Noah’s day the world was destroyed by water. God’s word teaches that it is now to be destroyed by fire.
“‘By the word of God, . . . the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.’ 2 Peter 3:5-7.
“The people before the flood mocked at God’s warnings. They called Noah a fanatic and alarmist. Great and learned men declared that such a flood of waters as he foretold had never been known, and that it would never come.
“Today God’s word is little heeded. Men laugh at its warnings. Multitudes are saying, ‘All things continue as they were from the beginning of the world. There is nothing to fear.’
“At this very time, destruction is coming. While men ask in scorn, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’ the signs are fulfilling.
“‘When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them; . . . and they shall not escape.’ 1 Thessalonians 5:3.
“Christ declares: ‘If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.’ Revelation 3:3.
“Today men are still taken up with eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying and giving in marriage. Merchants are still buying and selling. Men are contending for the highest place. Pleasure lovers are crowding to theaters, horse races, gambling hells. Everywhere excitement prevails; yet the day of probation is fast closing, and the door of mercy is soon to be forever shut.
“For us were spoken the Saviour’s words of warning:
“‘Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.’ Luke 21:34.
“‘Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.’ Luke 21:36.” (The Story of Jesus, pp. 179-182, by Ellen G. White)
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