Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
Then is conditional, so receiving and treasuring God's words and commandments, inclining the ear to wisdom, applying the heart to understanding, and crying out and seeking for knowledge as for silver and hidden treasure leads to understanding the fear of the Lord and finding the knowledge of God. The seeking must express a real desire of the soul with earnest, wholehearted, persistent effort, and this treasure may be found by every soul who will give all to obtain it. The fear of the Lord is reverent understanding and true religion profitable for this life and the life to come, and the knowledge of God is a real personal finding that comes from the Lord as the source of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and not from human cleverness or invention. Understanding never comes through indolence or half-hearted work but is the reward of earnest, patient, persevering toil, like a miner digging for gold and hidden treasure beneath the surface through thoughtful investigation, comparing scripture with scripture, and studying with wholehearted earnestness and prayer. The search must be humble and prayerful with dependence on divine help, asking for wisdom and the Holy Spirit's illumination to open the mind and make deep things plain, and when found wisdom enters the heart and knowledge becomes pleasant to the soul, giving understanding of righteousness and justice and equity and every good path.
Promise and Its Terms
The word then makes the promise conditional on what goes before it, so reverence for the Lord is understood and personal knowledge of God is found only by receiving and treasuring His words and commandments, inclining the ear to wisdom, applying the heart to understanding, crying out and lifting the voice for knowledge, and seeking wisdom as silver and as hidden treasure. That diligent searching of the Scriptures as God's Word brings knowledge that comes from God rather than from one's own cleverness or inventions, through surrender of the mind to His guidance. The Lord Himself is the source of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, and what is found is more valuable than gold and silver and endures trial instead of washing away into impulsive guesses.
The seeking must express a real desire of the soul, crying after knowledge and lifting the voice for understanding with earnest, wholehearted, persistent effort like digging for hidden treasure. It is searching the Word of God rather than mere acquaintance with facts and theories, giving the soul food that nourishes and stimulates spiritual life, which is of little value unless put to practical use. This finding brings understanding of righteousness and justice and equity and every good path, with wisdom entering the heart and knowledge becoming pleasant to the soul, while discretion watches and understanding keeps, for wisdom is a tree of life and happy is everyone who lays hold upon her and retains her.
The fear of the Lord so understood is reverent understanding and true religion, profitable for this life and the life to come, preparing a person to meet the Lord in peace. The knowledge of God so found is a real personal finding that builds sound character, teaches righteousness and judgment, forms upright principles for faithful responsibility, and gives discernment that guards from evil paths. Receiving Wisdom's words and hiding His commandments in the heart means turning the eyes Christward and being willing to do God's will, and then knowing the doctrine. Looking to Jesus enlightens the mind by the Holy Spirit to comprehend the deep truths of the Word and the rich treasures of the mysteries of godliness, and purifies from outward display and the dross of frivolity, while to a diverted mind full of worldly devising without the Holy Spirit those truths remain a mystery, an offense, and a stone of stumbling. Even so, those who search the Scriptures with desire to understand them will know the doctrine, just as uneducated disciples obtained wisdom that astonished the rabbis.
This treasure may be found by every soul who will give all to obtain it. Mothers and fathers are to teach their children this promise in training them, that they may understand reverence for the Lord and find the knowledge of God. As laborers together with God, parents meet the divine requirements and do a work for themselves and for others, seeing what God sees in human agents and treating children as younger members of the Lord's family with the great responsibility of teaching them to be true and faithful to God who gave His life for them.
Searching Scripture Earnestly
Understanding never comes through indolence or half-hearted, indifferent work, for sharp, clear perception of truth is the reward of earnest, patient, persevering toil with a will to do and faith to look for results. As success in business requires effort, so no earthly blessing and no spiritual knowledge can be gained without such labor, and old and young must not only read God's word but study it with wholehearted earnestness, praying, toiling, doing, and searching for truth as for hidden treasure. Those who dig for the treasures of truth as the miner digs for treasure hidden in the earth will be rewarded, for Christ will quicken the understanding.
The search is like a miner digging for gold, silver, precious ore, and hidden treasure concealed beneath the surface, for its truths lie like veins of precious ore hidden beneath the surface and skimming over the surface does little good. Thoughtful investigation and earnest, taxing study are therefore required, exploring the word like a miner exploring the earth for veins of gold to discover great and precious truths relating to the plan of redemption. The Bible must be approached as a learner to know what God says rather than to prove opinions, by the aid of the Spirit by whom the word was given, and by living by it, obeying all it commands, claiming all it promises, and living the life it enjoins. Only when so held and lived can it be studied effectively, with the shaft sunk deeper and still deeper for glorious treasure, since truths essential to know lie too deeply for unaided human reason.
There is always more to gain, for only glimmerings of divine glory and the infinitude of knowledge and wisdom have been seen, as working on the surface of a mine when rich golden ore lies beneath for the one who will dig for it. Human intellect can be measured and human books can be mastered, but God cannot be found out by imagination or by the highest, deepest, broadest flight of imagination, for infinity lies beyond all that can be comprehended. Yet through correct faith divine knowledge becomes human knowledge, and toilsome labor that sinks the shaft deeper and still deeper is rewarded with glorious treasure. Followers who walk in companionship with Christ and work His works do not stop as though there were no more knowledge to gain.
Seekers must not be content with supposition about truth, crude ideas, surface work, or taking the sayings of others for truth from indolence. Man's inventions are unreliable and dangerous, putting man where God should be and putting the sayings of men where a Thus saith the Lord should be, and human authority must not stand between the soul and God. Ministers must therefore search Scripture for themselves and receive guidance directly from God rather than relying on another person's thoughts, and each person must study and understand truth for themselves under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, because truth not thus understood cannot save. Every point received as truth and every detail thought to be established beyond controversy must be investigated, closely examined, compared with Scripture to test interpretation and discover error, until the treasure is within possession, which richly repays the searcher with sharp, clear conceptions of truth and precious jewels of inestimable value, the unsearchable riches of Christ in the Word.
The method is diligent personal labor with mental effort, giving earnest attention and prayerful study to one passage until its significance is clear and its relation to the plan of salvation is evident. It means comparing scripture with scripture with careful research and prayerful reflection, tracing the relation of Bible subjects and comparing scripture with scripture and spiritual things with spiritual, because Scripture unlocks Scripture and is its own interpreter, with scriptures on the same subjects explaining each other. The Bible is kept at hand, texts are fixed in memory and meditated upon, its gems of truth are stored in the mind for future use, and learners explain clearly every passage they read rather than having everything explained to them. Searching the Scriptures diligently as for something lost and studying difficult passages by comparing verse with verse rewards the seeker at every turn and opens richer fields for investigation.
The search must be humble, earnest, and prayerful with dependence on divine help rather than intellectual ability alone, asking God for wisdom and for the Holy Spirit's illumination to open the mind. The Holy Spirit brings truth to remembrance, separates the pure grain of truth of the divine commands from the chaff of error, human inventions, and misrepresentations by men and Satan, makes deep things plain, and enables the human mind to grasp the facts of revelation. Careful prayerful study awakens the mind, and heaven's light shines on the seeker, while a divine Teacher leads the mind of the humble searcher and divine light communicates with the soul so the eyes are opened to behold genuine treasure. Those who are converted explore the Word as a new revelation seeking the depth of Christ's words, while those who do not want truth will not understand it.
Finding demands never studying without prayer, asking for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit before opening its pages, and seeking Jesus in the secret places of prayer for light to know what is truth, where He sees the humble seeker and angels from the world of light attend for divine guidance. It requires much time in prayer that keeps communication between God and the soul open so the voice of the Captain is recognized, together with diligent study with earnest thought because the truth is like gold not lying on the surface. Digging together for the gems of Bible truth as for hidden treasures, with husband, wife, and daughter blessing each other in shared study, stores the mind with most valuable knowledge for spiritual development, for Christ is the great fountainhead from whom all wisdom flows. When the divine precepts are brought into daily life and the life is fashioned after God's great standard of righteousness, the whole character is strengthened and ennobled and makes an efficient worker.
The jewels of truth have long been buried beneath rubbish of human wisdom, tradition, customs, error, and opinions of men, and much of what God has revealed stays dark because the treasures remain hidden until searched for with earnest perseverance until the golden precepts are understood. Those who thirst for knowledge need not go to polluted fountains of exalted worldly educators, where portions of true philosophy are mingled with superstition, specious reasoning, and soul-poisoning error that destroys faith, but are invited to come to the fountain of life and drink freely. The Word bears not the stamp of man but the impress of God, preserved uncorrupted through the ages of darkness like the ark upon the billowy deep outriding the storms that threaten it with destruction, despite unwearied efforts to bury the Word of truth beneath error, heresy, and superstition and to obscure its plain, simple meaning and make it contradict its own testimony. What is found by careful searching with much prayer is a straight chain of Bible truth, clear and connected and of heavenly origin, establishing God's people on the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus, with no limiting of the Scriptures since God speaks through various channels and guides everyone desiring to be taught into all truth.
Truth that first seems uninteresting becomes clear to the attentive seeker, and its hidden riches reward faith, for spiritual things are understood through sustained attention and with God's grace. This search includes humbling self and recognizing the far-reaching claims of God's law, which judges inward thoughts as well as outward actions.
What Finding Gives
Finding brings understanding of righteousness and justice and equity and every good path, with wisdom entering the heart and knowledge becoming pleasant to the soul, while discretion watches and understanding keeps. Wisdom is a tree of life and happy is everyone who lays hold upon her and retains her. What is found gives the soul food that nourishes and stimulates spiritual life, rather than mere acquaintance with facts and theories which is of little value unless put to practical use.
The pursuit builds sound character and teaches righteousness and judgment, forming upright principles and sound foundations for principled conduct. It calls young people to develop upright principles and to prepare faithfully for their responsibilities. Wholehearted seeking of the Lord perfects Christian character, and this is the work every worker must do and the aim schools must plan for to qualify every scholar. This discernment guards a person from evil paths.
The wisdom found is to be valued above gold and silver and is learned in the school of Christ by following on to know the Lord as laborers together with God. It comes by weighing carefully all sides of a question and stepping firmly by faith instead of standing in a negative, waiting position. Once gained it gives a standing place and certainty that does not wash out in the heat of summer but stands the test of trial. It keeps a person from following impulsive conjectures and guesses.
Diligent searching makes the mind a treasure-house of knowledge and enlarges its grasp of the word in proportion to the labor spent. It strengthens, enlarges, elevates, and ennobles the faculties and gives new vigor by contact with deep subjects, strengthening and expanding the mental powers and giving a true estimate of eternal things. The mind becomes like what it contemplates and narrows or expands to the dimensions of what it becomes familiar with, so vigorous and persistent searching enlarges it to grasp deep meanings by tracing the relation of Bible subjects and comparing scripture with scripture and spiritual things with spiritual, and rewards the seeker at every turn with richer fields for investigation, while commonplace attention makes a person commonplace and superficial understanding forfeits rich blessings. Studied as it should be, the Bible energizes the mind, strengthens the intellect, elevates the thoughts, gives vigor to the faculties, breadth of mind, nobility of character, and stability of purpose, and when its precepts are brought into daily life and the life is fashioned after God's great standard of righteousness the whole character is strengthened and ennobled and makes an efficient worker. The mind must be cultivated, kept under control of the will, and made thorough rather than distracted, drawing continually from God as the inexhaustible fountain and source of all wisdom and knowledge, going on from truth to truth with clearer and brighter views of the laws of science and nature, with pure streams of light pouring into the soul, with purer and happier contemplation of God's infinity, and with growing longing for wisdom sufficient to comprehend the deep things of God, until mystery after mystery is unfolded to comprehension and higher faculties develop into deep thinking that brings hidden treasure to the surface in teaching. Such digging sharpens and polishes so Scripture can be explained acceptably even to educated hearers, while neglect of this digging leaves mental deficiencies exposed, and those content with superficial knowledge lose much in every way and lack essential qualities of mind and character.
God gave His Word as a revelation of Himself and designed the Bible to be a lesson-book to all mankind in childhood, youth, and manhood, to be studied through all time. Study of the Scriptures is the means divinely ordained to bring men into closer connection with their Creator and to give them a clearer knowledge of His will, as the medium of communication between God and man. Every new truth discerned is a fresh disclosure of the character of its Author, and as the Bible is examined closely the love of God is revealed in new and rich ways.
Finding comes by diligently searching His word to know His will, because salvation depends on knowing duty and what to do to be saved. It is God's will that seekers know what He has said to them. The knowledge is found by never ceasing to ask and search, with a heart hungry for spiritual food, digging as a miner digs for veins of gold, and not giving up the search until learning relation to God and His will. Finding it requires faith that God is and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
The knowledge is revelation, not the creation or invention of something new but the manifestation of what was unknown. Great and eternal gospel truths are revealed through diligent searching and humbling of self before God as if searching for hidden treasure. There is always more to gain, for only glimmerings of divine glory and of the infinitude of knowledge and wisdom have been seen, as working on the surface of a mine when rich golden ore is beneath the surface for the one who will dig for it. Human intellect can be measured and human books can be mastered, but God cannot be found out by the highest, deepest, broadest flight of imagination, for infinity lies beyond all that can be comprehended. The shaft must be sunk deeper and yet deeper, and the result will be glorious treasure, for through a correct faith divine knowledge will become human knowledge. A divine Teacher leads the mind of the humble searcher, and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit the truths of the Word are revealed, giving certain and efficient knowledge of the truth. The Lord opens the understanding of the true seeker, the Holy Spirit enables the human mind to grasp the facts of revelation, divine light communicates with the soul, the eyes are opened to behold the genuine treasure, the mind lays hold upon the glories of a better world, and the soul pants after the excellence of Christ.
Persevering search purifies those who receive the word and prepares them to become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. The Holy Spirit directs this search, and the truths discovered enrich the seeker and can be shared with others. Those who dig for truth and remain students of the Bible keep their souls alive to the sacredness of their responsibilities.
Warnings and Life Application
Many are self-deceived because they do not seek with energies and powers put to the best account. Minds that might be illuminated with heaven's light are instead perplexed and troubled, choked by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things entering in, so that the word becomes unfruitful. Not desiring to understand the solemn important truths for this time and thinking to be well off without understanding them leaves them without excuse, their light wanes away and goes out, and they grope in darkness.
Superficial reading is not enough, and a surface knowledge of truth and Bible doctrine that stops satisfied never gains reverent understanding and true acquaintance with God. Understanding comes only through careful study with intellectual effort and dependence on the Holy Spirit to open the mind, for the Bible is the only rule of faith and doctrine and its broad, ennobling truths are full of rich depths of meaning. Studied as it should be, it energizes the mind, strengthens the intellect, elevates the thoughts, gives vigor to the faculties, and gives breadth of mind, nobility of character, and stability of purpose. Those who are content with superficial knowledge lose much in every way and forfeit rich blessings, and ministers who do not apply themselves to study lack essential qualities of mind and character, so seekers must go forward in self-education, hungering after knowledge to bless fellow men and digging deeper by diligent effort until God blesses them with expansion and development of the higher faculties to become deep thinkers who bring the hidden treasure to the surface in spiritual teaching.
Those thirsting for knowledge need not go to the polluted fountains of exalted worldly educators, where portions of true philosophy are mingled with superstition, specious reasoning, and soul-poisoning error that destroys faith, for the truth long buried beneath rubbish of error, human tradition, and opinions of men is to be found by diligent searching, and all are invited to come to the fountain of life and drink freely. The Holy Spirit must enlarge the mind to grasp deep spiritual truths, and those who do not want to know or accept truth will not understand it, for sacred truth is never forced on anyone.
The blessing is not given to inactivity or to waiting for God to do what power has been given to do for self, and if sunk in inactivity and willing to be controlled by Satan's power, inspiration is not sent. Without exerting to the utmost the powers given, with much prayer and most vigorous exercise of mind, weakness and inefficiency remain, but all fitted for usefulness must be trained by severest mental and moral discipline to elevate and sanctify self for sacred trust, and then divine power is combined with human effort to make the worker a person of power. So it was with Moses, taught true humility by years keeping Jethro's flocks and found inefficient, hesitating, and self-distrustful at the overwhelming command to deliver Israel, who accepted the trust in the fear of God and did not bring the work down to his deficiency but put forth most earnest efforts to rise to it. Teaching young people to seek truth as hidden treasure prepares them to work earnestly for God, and the call is to dig together for the gems of Bible truth, with husband, wife, and daughter blessing each other in shared study, storing truth in the mind as of highest value for spiritual development from Christ as the great fountainhead from whom all wisdom flows, while ministers must search Scripture for themselves and receive guidance directly from God rather than relying on another person's thoughts or allowing human authority to stand between them and God.
Then is conditional, so receiving and treasuring God's words and commandments, inclining the ear to wisdom, applying the heart to understanding, and crying out and seeking for knowledge as for silver and hidden treasure leads to understanding the fear of the Lord and finding the knowledge of God. The seeking must express a real desire of the soul with earnest, wholehearted, persistent effort, and this treasure may be found by every soul who will give all to obtain it. The fear of the Lord is reverent understanding and true religion profitable for this life and the life to come, and the knowledge of God is a real personal finding that comes from the Lord as the source of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding and not from human cleverness or invention. Understanding never comes through indolence or half-hearted work but is the reward of earnest, patient, persevering toil, like a miner digging for gold and hidden treasure beneath the surface through thoughtful investigation, comparing scripture with scripture, and studying with wholehearted earnestness and prayer. The search must be humble and prayerful with dependence on divine help, asking for wisdom and the Holy Spirit's illumination to open the mind and make deep things plain, and when found wisdom enters the heart and knowledge becomes pleasant to the soul, giving understanding of righteousness and justice and equity and every good path.
Promise and Its Terms
The word then makes the promise conditional on what goes before it, so reverence for the Lord is understood and personal knowledge of God is found only by receiving and treasuring His words and commandments, inclining the ear to wisdom, applying the heart to understanding, crying out and lifting the voice for knowledge, and seeking wisdom as silver and as hidden treasure. That diligent searching of the Scriptures as God's Word brings knowledge that comes from God rather than from one's own cleverness or inventions, through surrender of the mind to His guidance. The Lord Himself is the source of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, and what is found is more valuable than gold and silver and endures trial instead of washing away into impulsive guesses.
The seeking must express a real desire of the soul, crying after knowledge and lifting the voice for understanding with earnest, wholehearted, persistent effort like digging for hidden treasure. It is searching the Word of God rather than mere acquaintance with facts and theories, giving the soul food that nourishes and stimulates spiritual life, which is of little value unless put to practical use. This finding brings understanding of righteousness and justice and equity and every good path, with wisdom entering the heart and knowledge becoming pleasant to the soul, while discretion watches and understanding keeps, for wisdom is a tree of life and happy is everyone who lays hold upon her and retains her.
The fear of the Lord so understood is reverent understanding and true religion, profitable for this life and the life to come, preparing a person to meet the Lord in peace. The knowledge of God so found is a real personal finding that builds sound character, teaches righteousness and judgment, forms upright principles for faithful responsibility, and gives discernment that guards from evil paths. Receiving Wisdom's words and hiding His commandments in the heart means turning the eyes Christward and being willing to do God's will, and then knowing the doctrine. Looking to Jesus enlightens the mind by the Holy Spirit to comprehend the deep truths of the Word and the rich treasures of the mysteries of godliness, and purifies from outward display and the dross of frivolity, while to a diverted mind full of worldly devising without the Holy Spirit those truths remain a mystery, an offense, and a stone of stumbling. Even so, those who search the Scriptures with desire to understand them will know the doctrine, just as uneducated disciples obtained wisdom that astonished the rabbis.
This treasure may be found by every soul who will give all to obtain it. Mothers and fathers are to teach their children this promise in training them, that they may understand reverence for the Lord and find the knowledge of God. As laborers together with God, parents meet the divine requirements and do a work for themselves and for others, seeing what God sees in human agents and treating children as younger members of the Lord's family with the great responsibility of teaching them to be true and faithful to God who gave His life for them.
Searching Scripture Earnestly
Understanding never comes through indolence or half-hearted, indifferent work, for sharp, clear perception of truth is the reward of earnest, patient, persevering toil with a will to do and faith to look for results. As success in business requires effort, so no earthly blessing and no spiritual knowledge can be gained without such labor, and old and young must not only read God's word but study it with wholehearted earnestness, praying, toiling, doing, and searching for truth as for hidden treasure. Those who dig for the treasures of truth as the miner digs for treasure hidden in the earth will be rewarded, for Christ will quicken the understanding.
The search is like a miner digging for gold, silver, precious ore, and hidden treasure concealed beneath the surface, for its truths lie like veins of precious ore hidden beneath the surface and skimming over the surface does little good. Thoughtful investigation and earnest, taxing study are therefore required, exploring the word like a miner exploring the earth for veins of gold to discover great and precious truths relating to the plan of redemption. The Bible must be approached as a learner to know what God says rather than to prove opinions, by the aid of the Spirit by whom the word was given, and by living by it, obeying all it commands, claiming all it promises, and living the life it enjoins. Only when so held and lived can it be studied effectively, with the shaft sunk deeper and still deeper for glorious treasure, since truths essential to know lie too deeply for unaided human reason.
There is always more to gain, for only glimmerings of divine glory and the infinitude of knowledge and wisdom have been seen, as working on the surface of a mine when rich golden ore lies beneath for the one who will dig for it. Human intellect can be measured and human books can be mastered, but God cannot be found out by imagination or by the highest, deepest, broadest flight of imagination, for infinity lies beyond all that can be comprehended. Yet through correct faith divine knowledge becomes human knowledge, and toilsome labor that sinks the shaft deeper and still deeper is rewarded with glorious treasure. Followers who walk in companionship with Christ and work His works do not stop as though there were no more knowledge to gain.
Seekers must not be content with supposition about truth, crude ideas, surface work, or taking the sayings of others for truth from indolence. Man's inventions are unreliable and dangerous, putting man where God should be and putting the sayings of men where a Thus saith the Lord should be, and human authority must not stand between the soul and God. Ministers must therefore search Scripture for themselves and receive guidance directly from God rather than relying on another person's thoughts, and each person must study and understand truth for themselves under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, because truth not thus understood cannot save. Every point received as truth and every detail thought to be established beyond controversy must be investigated, closely examined, compared with Scripture to test interpretation and discover error, until the treasure is within possession, which richly repays the searcher with sharp, clear conceptions of truth and precious jewels of inestimable value, the unsearchable riches of Christ in the Word.
The method is diligent personal labor with mental effort, giving earnest attention and prayerful study to one passage until its significance is clear and its relation to the plan of salvation is evident. It means comparing scripture with scripture with careful research and prayerful reflection, tracing the relation of Bible subjects and comparing scripture with scripture and spiritual things with spiritual, because Scripture unlocks Scripture and is its own interpreter, with scriptures on the same subjects explaining each other. The Bible is kept at hand, texts are fixed in memory and meditated upon, its gems of truth are stored in the mind for future use, and learners explain clearly every passage they read rather than having everything explained to them. Searching the Scriptures diligently as for something lost and studying difficult passages by comparing verse with verse rewards the seeker at every turn and opens richer fields for investigation.
The search must be humble, earnest, and prayerful with dependence on divine help rather than intellectual ability alone, asking God for wisdom and for the Holy Spirit's illumination to open the mind. The Holy Spirit brings truth to remembrance, separates the pure grain of truth of the divine commands from the chaff of error, human inventions, and misrepresentations by men and Satan, makes deep things plain, and enables the human mind to grasp the facts of revelation. Careful prayerful study awakens the mind, and heaven's light shines on the seeker, while a divine Teacher leads the mind of the humble searcher and divine light communicates with the soul so the eyes are opened to behold genuine treasure. Those who are converted explore the Word as a new revelation seeking the depth of Christ's words, while those who do not want truth will not understand it.
Finding demands never studying without prayer, asking for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit before opening its pages, and seeking Jesus in the secret places of prayer for light to know what is truth, where He sees the humble seeker and angels from the world of light attend for divine guidance. It requires much time in prayer that keeps communication between God and the soul open so the voice of the Captain is recognized, together with diligent study with earnest thought because the truth is like gold not lying on the surface. Digging together for the gems of Bible truth as for hidden treasures, with husband, wife, and daughter blessing each other in shared study, stores the mind with most valuable knowledge for spiritual development, for Christ is the great fountainhead from whom all wisdom flows. When the divine precepts are brought into daily life and the life is fashioned after God's great standard of righteousness, the whole character is strengthened and ennobled and makes an efficient worker.
The jewels of truth have long been buried beneath rubbish of human wisdom, tradition, customs, error, and opinions of men, and much of what God has revealed stays dark because the treasures remain hidden until searched for with earnest perseverance until the golden precepts are understood. Those who thirst for knowledge need not go to polluted fountains of exalted worldly educators, where portions of true philosophy are mingled with superstition, specious reasoning, and soul-poisoning error that destroys faith, but are invited to come to the fountain of life and drink freely. The Word bears not the stamp of man but the impress of God, preserved uncorrupted through the ages of darkness like the ark upon the billowy deep outriding the storms that threaten it with destruction, despite unwearied efforts to bury the Word of truth beneath error, heresy, and superstition and to obscure its plain, simple meaning and make it contradict its own testimony. What is found by careful searching with much prayer is a straight chain of Bible truth, clear and connected and of heavenly origin, establishing God's people on the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus, with no limiting of the Scriptures since God speaks through various channels and guides everyone desiring to be taught into all truth.
Truth that first seems uninteresting becomes clear to the attentive seeker, and its hidden riches reward faith, for spiritual things are understood through sustained attention and with God's grace. This search includes humbling self and recognizing the far-reaching claims of God's law, which judges inward thoughts as well as outward actions.
What Finding Gives
Finding brings understanding of righteousness and justice and equity and every good path, with wisdom entering the heart and knowledge becoming pleasant to the soul, while discretion watches and understanding keeps. Wisdom is a tree of life and happy is everyone who lays hold upon her and retains her. What is found gives the soul food that nourishes and stimulates spiritual life, rather than mere acquaintance with facts and theories which is of little value unless put to practical use.
The pursuit builds sound character and teaches righteousness and judgment, forming upright principles and sound foundations for principled conduct. It calls young people to develop upright principles and to prepare faithfully for their responsibilities. Wholehearted seeking of the Lord perfects Christian character, and this is the work every worker must do and the aim schools must plan for to qualify every scholar. This discernment guards a person from evil paths.
The wisdom found is to be valued above gold and silver and is learned in the school of Christ by following on to know the Lord as laborers together with God. It comes by weighing carefully all sides of a question and stepping firmly by faith instead of standing in a negative, waiting position. Once gained it gives a standing place and certainty that does not wash out in the heat of summer but stands the test of trial. It keeps a person from following impulsive conjectures and guesses.
Diligent searching makes the mind a treasure-house of knowledge and enlarges its grasp of the word in proportion to the labor spent. It strengthens, enlarges, elevates, and ennobles the faculties and gives new vigor by contact with deep subjects, strengthening and expanding the mental powers and giving a true estimate of eternal things. The mind becomes like what it contemplates and narrows or expands to the dimensions of what it becomes familiar with, so vigorous and persistent searching enlarges it to grasp deep meanings by tracing the relation of Bible subjects and comparing scripture with scripture and spiritual things with spiritual, and rewards the seeker at every turn with richer fields for investigation, while commonplace attention makes a person commonplace and superficial understanding forfeits rich blessings. Studied as it should be, the Bible energizes the mind, strengthens the intellect, elevates the thoughts, gives vigor to the faculties, breadth of mind, nobility of character, and stability of purpose, and when its precepts are brought into daily life and the life is fashioned after God's great standard of righteousness the whole character is strengthened and ennobled and makes an efficient worker. The mind must be cultivated, kept under control of the will, and made thorough rather than distracted, drawing continually from God as the inexhaustible fountain and source of all wisdom and knowledge, going on from truth to truth with clearer and brighter views of the laws of science and nature, with pure streams of light pouring into the soul, with purer and happier contemplation of God's infinity, and with growing longing for wisdom sufficient to comprehend the deep things of God, until mystery after mystery is unfolded to comprehension and higher faculties develop into deep thinking that brings hidden treasure to the surface in teaching. Such digging sharpens and polishes so Scripture can be explained acceptably even to educated hearers, while neglect of this digging leaves mental deficiencies exposed, and those content with superficial knowledge lose much in every way and lack essential qualities of mind and character.
God gave His Word as a revelation of Himself and designed the Bible to be a lesson-book to all mankind in childhood, youth, and manhood, to be studied through all time. Study of the Scriptures is the means divinely ordained to bring men into closer connection with their Creator and to give them a clearer knowledge of His will, as the medium of communication between God and man. Every new truth discerned is a fresh disclosure of the character of its Author, and as the Bible is examined closely the love of God is revealed in new and rich ways.
Finding comes by diligently searching His word to know His will, because salvation depends on knowing duty and what to do to be saved. It is God's will that seekers know what He has said to them. The knowledge is found by never ceasing to ask and search, with a heart hungry for spiritual food, digging as a miner digs for veins of gold, and not giving up the search until learning relation to God and His will. Finding it requires faith that God is and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
The knowledge is revelation, not the creation or invention of something new but the manifestation of what was unknown. Great and eternal gospel truths are revealed through diligent searching and humbling of self before God as if searching for hidden treasure. There is always more to gain, for only glimmerings of divine glory and of the infinitude of knowledge and wisdom have been seen, as working on the surface of a mine when rich golden ore is beneath the surface for the one who will dig for it. Human intellect can be measured and human books can be mastered, but God cannot be found out by the highest, deepest, broadest flight of imagination, for infinity lies beyond all that can be comprehended. The shaft must be sunk deeper and yet deeper, and the result will be glorious treasure, for through a correct faith divine knowledge will become human knowledge. A divine Teacher leads the mind of the humble searcher, and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit the truths of the Word are revealed, giving certain and efficient knowledge of the truth. The Lord opens the understanding of the true seeker, the Holy Spirit enables the human mind to grasp the facts of revelation, divine light communicates with the soul, the eyes are opened to behold the genuine treasure, the mind lays hold upon the glories of a better world, and the soul pants after the excellence of Christ.
Persevering search purifies those who receive the word and prepares them to become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. The Holy Spirit directs this search, and the truths discovered enrich the seeker and can be shared with others. Those who dig for truth and remain students of the Bible keep their souls alive to the sacredness of their responsibilities.
Warnings and Life Application
Many are self-deceived because they do not seek with energies and powers put to the best account. Minds that might be illuminated with heaven's light are instead perplexed and troubled, choked by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things entering in, so that the word becomes unfruitful. Not desiring to understand the solemn important truths for this time and thinking to be well off without understanding them leaves them without excuse, their light wanes away and goes out, and they grope in darkness.
Superficial reading is not enough, and a surface knowledge of truth and Bible doctrine that stops satisfied never gains reverent understanding and true acquaintance with God. Understanding comes only through careful study with intellectual effort and dependence on the Holy Spirit to open the mind, for the Bible is the only rule of faith and doctrine and its broad, ennobling truths are full of rich depths of meaning. Studied as it should be, it energizes the mind, strengthens the intellect, elevates the thoughts, gives vigor to the faculties, and gives breadth of mind, nobility of character, and stability of purpose. Those who are content with superficial knowledge lose much in every way and forfeit rich blessings, and ministers who do not apply themselves to study lack essential qualities of mind and character, so seekers must go forward in self-education, hungering after knowledge to bless fellow men and digging deeper by diligent effort until God blesses them with expansion and development of the higher faculties to become deep thinkers who bring the hidden treasure to the surface in spiritual teaching.
Those thirsting for knowledge need not go to the polluted fountains of exalted worldly educators, where portions of true philosophy are mingled with superstition, specious reasoning, and soul-poisoning error that destroys faith, for the truth long buried beneath rubbish of error, human tradition, and opinions of men is to be found by diligent searching, and all are invited to come to the fountain of life and drink freely. The Holy Spirit must enlarge the mind to grasp deep spiritual truths, and those who do not want to know or accept truth will not understand it, for sacred truth is never forced on anyone.
The blessing is not given to inactivity or to waiting for God to do what power has been given to do for self, and if sunk in inactivity and willing to be controlled by Satan's power, inspiration is not sent. Without exerting to the utmost the powers given, with much prayer and most vigorous exercise of mind, weakness and inefficiency remain, but all fitted for usefulness must be trained by severest mental and moral discipline to elevate and sanctify self for sacred trust, and then divine power is combined with human effort to make the worker a person of power. So it was with Moses, taught true humility by years keeping Jethro's flocks and found inefficient, hesitating, and self-distrustful at the overwhelming command to deliver Israel, who accepted the trust in the fear of God and did not bring the work down to his deficiency but put forth most earnest efforts to rise to it. Teaching young people to seek truth as hidden treasure prepares them to work earnestly for God, and the call is to dig together for the gems of Bible truth, with husband, wife, and daughter blessing each other in shared study, storing truth in the mind as of highest value for spiritual development from Christ as the great fountainhead from whom all wisdom flows, while ministers must search Scripture for themselves and receive guidance directly from God rather than relying on another person's thoughts or allowing human authority to stand between them and God.