--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Bible is like a wide and beautiful…" description: "\"The Bible is like a wide and beautiful landscape seen afar off, dim and confused; but a good telescope will bring it near, and spread out all its rocks..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/thomas-chalmers-14874_afar_the-bible-is-like-a-wide-and-beautiful-l_2979956.jpg" --- # The Bible is like a wide and beautiful landscape seen afar… ![“The Bible is like a wide and beautiful landscape seen afar off, dim and confused; but a good telescope will bring it near, and spread out all its rocks and trees and flowers and v__ulant fields and winding rivers at one's very feet. That telescope is the Spirit's teaching.” quote by Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/thomas-chalmers-14874_afar_the-bible-is-like-a-wide-and-beautiful-l_2979956.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/thomas-chalmers-14874_afar_the-bible-is-like-a-wide-and-beautiful-l_2979956.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/thomas-chalmers-14874_afar_the-bible-is-like-a-wide-and-beautiful-l_2979956.jpg) > “The Bible is like a wide and beautiful landscape seen afar off, dim and confused; but a good telescope will bring it near, and spread out all its rocks and trees and flowers and v\_\_ulant fields and winding rivers at one's very feet. That telescope is the Spirit's teaching.” [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Spiritual insight turns distant, confusing truths into vivid, personal experience, revealing God's presence in detail. **In simple terms:** Faith makes God's truth clear and close. Key Takeaway Seek spiritual teaching to see God's work. Themes faith perception spiritual growth Mood reverent hopeful Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - personal prayer - Bible study - spiritual mentorship - church teaching Key Concepts theology metaphor vision Questions to Reflect On - How does spiritual teaching change your view of scripture? - What details become vivid when you focus on faith? A Different Perspective Interpretation varies; not all find the same clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beautiful landscapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-landscapes/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Telescopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telescopes/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) ## Related quotes > [The Bible is like a telescope. If a man looks through his telescope, then he sees worlds beyond; but, if he looks at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/the-bible-is-like-a-telescope-if-a-man-looks-through-his-telescope/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Oh, I don't object, of course, to cutting wood from necessity, but why destroy the forests? The woods of Russia are trembling under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/oh-i-don-t-object-of-course-to-cutting-wood-from-necessity-but-why/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [My painting is not violent, it's life that is violent. 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In many parts of the planet, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/the-earth-our-home-is-beginning-to-look-more-and-more-like-an-immense/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [The most beautiful landscapes in the world, if they evoke no memory, if they bear no trace of a remarkable event, are uninteresting compared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/the-most-beautiful-landscapes-in-the-world-if-they-evoke-no-memory-if/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [The most beautiful landscape cannot hold my fascinated attention as much as nature by the seaside and all that is connected with water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyonel-feininger/the-most-beautiful-landscape-cannot-hold-my-fascinated-attention-as/) Lyonel Feininger > [Many painters had a clear idea of what fractals are. Take a French classic painter named Poussin. Now, he painted beautiful landscapes, completely artificial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/many-painters-had-a-clear-idea-of-what-fractals-are-take-a-french/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [My bad head cannot adjust itself to the way things are… If I want to depict spring, it has to be in wintertime; if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/my-bad-head-cannot-adjust-itself-to-the-way-things-are-if-i-want-to/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [To me, work is not a burden but my main hobby. This is why I always take work with me when I go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-bunge/to-me-work-is-not-a-burden-but-my-main-hobby-this-is-why-i-always/) [Mario Bunge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-bunge/) > [I never wanted to make portraits - to photograph celebrities, beautiful people, beautiful landscapes, beautiful buildings, or people in distressing situations… I have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-metzker/i-never-wanted-to-make-portraits-to-photograph-celebrities-beautiful/) [Ray Metzker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-metzker/) > [Given the lack of public skills in reading photographs, given that photographic content is sometimes buried in beauty, contemporary landscape photographers are often condemned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-r-lippard/given-the-lack-of-public-skills-in-reading-photographs-given-that/) [Lucy R. Lippard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-r-lippard/) > [In Hawaii, they're happy to hear that you're filming a show. They love it that people actually come and make use of their beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachelle-lefevre/in-hawaii-they-re-happy-to-hear-that-you-re-filming-a-show-they-love/) [Rachelle Lefevre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachelle-lefevre/) ## More by Thomas Chalmers > [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [O Heavenly Father, convert my religion from a name to a principle! Bring all my thoughts and movements into an habitual reference to Thee!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/o-heavenly-father-convert-my-religion-from-a-name-to-a-principle/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [It has been said that there is nothing more uncommon than common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/it-has-been-said-that-there-is-nothing-more-uncommon-than-common-sense/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Enthusiasm is a virtue rarely to be met with in seasons of calm and unruffled prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/enthusiasm-is-a-virtue-rarely-to-be-met-with-in-seasons-of-calm-and/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [The human mind feels restless and dissatisfied under the anxieties of ignorance. 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We have no faith in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/it-is-not-scholarship-alone-but-scholarship-impregnated-with-religion/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [Infidelity is one of those coinages,-a mass of base money that won't pass current with any heart that loves truly, or any head that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/infidelity-is-one-of-those-coinages-a-mass-of-base-money-that-won-t/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) [Explore all 45 Thomas Chalmers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) ## More Afar quotes > [The Son of God goes forth to war,A kingly crown to gain;His blood red banner streams afar:Who follows in His train?Who best can drink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-heber/the-son-of-god-goes-forth-to-war-a-kingly-crown-to-gain-his-blood-red/) [Reginald Heber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-heber/) > [“Can I like you from afar?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-bernardino/can-i-like-you-from-afar/) [Bianca Bernardino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-bernardino/) > [Religion exalts mystery as an unknowable secret that must be sealed in glass like the corpse of an enchanted princess and fearfully worshipped from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lon-milo-duquette/religion-exalts-mystery-as-an-unknowable-secret-that-must-be-sealed/) [Lon Milo DuQuette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lon-milo-duquette/) > [Ah, my brother, it is a far harder thing, and it is afar higher proof of a thorough-going, persistent, Christian principle woven into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/ah-my-brother-it-is-a-far-harder-thing-and-it-is-afar-higher-proof-of/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and useless as when he is well and an be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/blessed-is-the-servant-who-loves-his-brother-as-much-when-he-is-sick/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Last but not least my family. My brother Tony, I love you. Thank you for beating me up when I was a kid. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-durant/last-but-not-least-my-family-my-brother-tony-i-love-you-thank-you-for/) [Kevin Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-durant/) > [I wasn't a 'Battlestar' fan, but I had a lot of respect for the show. I had a lot of friends who worked on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-roiz/i-wasn-t-a-battlestar-fan-but-i-had-a-lot-of-respect-for-the-show-i/) [Sasha Roiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-roiz/) > [Kindle the taper like the steadfast star Ablaze on evening's forehead o'er the earth, And add each night a lustre till afar An eightfold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-lazarus/kindle-the-taper-like-the-steadfast-star-ablaze-on-evening-s-forehead/) [Emma Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-lazarus/) > [Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgetting-the-soul-that-rises-with-us-2/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [There is so much more to the things that we think we know from afar. 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