For Your Word I Thank You

At the beginning of my life in Christ, my teachers were drawn mostly from the Church fathers of West and East up to and including the Reformation. My daily Companion was, then as now, my Jerusalem Bible. The copy pictured in the sidebar of my blog is the one I have had the longest. It's my ‘work book’ bible, the one I wrote in as I was being taught, and the margins are dense with notes in places.
Taught by whom? Well, taught first by those fathers, but after they could trust me by verifying that my hearing had been corrected, they turned me over to the Word Himself, and the anointing He gave me teaches me everything.

To offer thanks and praise to Jesus Christ the Son of God and the Divine Word of the Father, I want to share these ten keys which became the principles of how I study and apply the bible, from age 24 to today, 36 years later. They are precious to me. All but one were hand printed on the front pages of my ‘work book’ bible. The tenth one was typewritten on a square of paper and pasted on the facing page of the beginning of the New Testament in that bible.

Those who know me best can tell you whether I have stayed true to these ten keys. I have listed them here in historical order.

He who despises the Word will destroy himself.

Proverbs 13:13

If you make My Word your home, you will indeed be My disciples.
And My Father will love you, and We shall come to you
and make our home with you.
John 8:31, 14:23

“Turn it this way; turn it that way; everything is in it; keep your eye on it; grow old and aged over it; and from it do not stir—for you have no better portion than it.”
Talmud, Pirkei Avot (Sayings of the Fathers), Chapter 5, Saying 29

“Study first of all the Divine scriptures. Study them, I say, for we require to study the Divine writings deeply, lest we should speak of them faster than we think. And while you study these Divine works with a believing and God-fearing intention, knock at what is closed in them, and it shall be opened to you by the Porter, of whom Jesus says, To him the Porter opens.”
Origen of Alexandria, Epistle to Gregory the Wonderworker

“Read God’s Book continually: Nay, never let the Sacred Volume be out of your hand. Learn, so that you may teach. Hold fast to the words of faith according to sound doctrine, so that you may be able thereby to exhort and refute the gainsayers.”
Jerome, On the Duties of the Clergy

“The way in to the Holy Scriptures is low and humble, but inside the vault is high and veiled in mysteries.”

Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Book 3, Chapter 5

“Happy the man who is instructed by Truth itself, not by signs and passing words, but as It is in Itself. Those to whom the Eternal Word speaks are delivered from uncertainty. From one Word proceed all things, and all things tell of Him; it is He, the Author of all things, who speaks to us. Without Him no one can understand or judge aright. But the man to whom all things are One, who refers everything to One, and who sees everything as in One, is enabled to remain steadfast in heart, and abide at peace with God.

“O God! Living Truth! Unite me to Yourself in everlasting love! Often I am wearied by all I read and hear. In You alone is all that I desire and long for. Therefore, let all teachers keep silence, and let all creation be still before You; do You, O Lord, speak alone!”

Thomas à Kempis, Imitatio Christi, Book 1, Chapter 3

“In the Holy Scriptures, truth is to be looked for rather than fair phrases. All Sacred Scriptures should be read in the spirit in which they were written. In them, therefore, we should seek food for our souls rather than subtleties of speech, and we should as readily read simple and devout books as those that are lofty and profound. Do not be influenced by the importance of the writer, and whether his learning be great or small, but let the love of pure truth draw you to read. Do not inquire, ‘Who said this?’ but pay attention to what is said.

“Men pass away, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.

“God speaks to us in different ways, and is no respecter of persons. But curiosity often hinders us in the reading of the Scriptures, for we try to examine and dispute over matters that we should pass over and accept in simplicity.

“If you desire to profit, read with humility, simplicity, and faith, and have no concern to appear learned. Ask questions freely, and listen in silence to the words of the saints; hear with patience the parables of the fathers, for they are not told without good cause.”
Thomas à Kempis, Imitatio Christi, Book 1, Chapter 5

“Anyone who is not ceaselessly busy with the Word of God must become corrupt.”
Martin Luther, Open Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation

“Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”
The Book of Common Prayer, Proper 28