The Holy Scriptures (Pasche)
"From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 2 Tim. 3:15.
The first writer of the Bible was Moses; then came Joshua, later Samuel; then David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets to Malachi, who lived about 45Oyears before Christ. The sacred writings of these holy men of God, who wrote their books by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, were collected by the scribe Ezra and together formed the Old Testament.
In the New Testament the work of Christ and the apostles is described in the four gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles. Then the epistles were written to the newly founded Christian con- gregations, and finally came a prophetic book, the Revelation of St. John. The thirty-nine books of the Old Testament are written in Hebrew, the twenty-seven of the New Testament in Greek. These sixty-six books are called the Canonical Books, because they form the canon, or rule, of faith and life.
The Bible is the most popular book; it is the oldest book, and yet the newest book. “ It is,” as President Lincoln remarked, “the best gift God has given to man. All the riches of the Savior are communicated through this Book. Whatever is desirable for man is contained in it.” It is the most generally adopted book of religion, appealing to every nation under the sun and to every mood and experience of the human heart; a book for kings and peasants, for the learned and the simple, the aged and the young. It is the richest book, full of useful information of every kind, a treasure of the choicest poetry, and the finest collection of beautiful prose literature that was ever written. It is the profoundest book, con taining the deepest thoughts ever conceived by man. It is the one divine book in the world, God’s own Book, the Word of God. It is the only norm and standard of truth, the only guide to salvation.
There are now a great many books from which a man may learn the way of salvation; but originally all these were taken from the Bible. Other books teach the way of salvation only in as far as they are taken from the Bible.
Prayer.
Blessed Lord, who hast caused the entire Holy Scripture to be written for our learning and who didst say: “ Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me,” grant that we may hear, read, learn, and heed them, and meditate upon them, that through patience and comfort of Thy holy Word we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which Thou hast given us in our Lord Jesus Christ; to whom be praise and glory in time and eternity. Amen.
