Psalm 19:1-6 ESV 1 The heavens declare the glory of God,     and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech,     and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words,     whose voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,     and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, 5     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,     and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. 6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,     and its circuit to the end of them,     and there is nothing hidden from its heat.  

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. –Carl Sagan in Pale Blue Dot (1997)

Psalm 19:7-14 ESV 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;     in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;     let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart     be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.  

Deuteronomy 17:18-19 18 And when he (the king) sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them…  

Exodus 20 1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image… 7 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain… 8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy 12 Honor your father and your mother… 13 You shall not murder. 14 You shall not commit adultery. 15 You shall not steal. 16 You shall not bear false witness... 17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house…”

Exodus 20 1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image… 7 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain… 8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy 12 Honor your father and your mother… 13 You shall not murder. 14 You shall not commit adultery. 15 You shall not steal. 16 You shall not bear false witness... 17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house…”

Exodus 20 1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image… 7 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain… 8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy 12 Honor your father and your mother… 13 You shall not murder. 14 You shall not commit adultery. 15 You shall not steal. 16 You shall not bear false witness... 17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house…”

Exodus 20 1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image… 7 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain… 8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy 12 Honor your father and your mother… 13 You shall not murder. 14 You shall not commit adultery. 15 You shall not steal. 16 You shall not bear false witness... 17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house…”

Psalm 19:7-14 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;     in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;     let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart     be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.  

Psalm 19:7-14 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;     in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;     let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart     be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.  

Psalm 19:7-14 ESV 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;     in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;     let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart     be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.  

There is some feeling nowadays that reading is not as necessary as it once was. Radio and especially television have taken over many of the functions once served by print, just as photography has taken over functions once served by painting and other graphic arts. Admittedly, television serves some of these functions extremely well; the visual communication of news events, for example, has enormous impact. The ability of radio to give us information while we are engaged in doing other things—for instance, driving a car—is remarkable, and a great saving of time. But it may be seriously questioned whether the advent of modern communications media has much enhanced our understanding of the world in which we live.

Perhaps we know more about the world than we used to, and insofar as knowledge is prerequisite to understanding, that is all to the good. But knowledge is not as much a prerequisite to understanding as is commonly supposed. We do not have to know everything about something in order to understand it; too many facts are often as much of an obstacle to understanding as too few. There is a sense in which we moderns are inundated with facts to the detriment of understanding.

If I were the devil (please, no comment), one of my first aims would be to stop folk from digging into the Bible. Knowing that it is the Word of God, teaching people to know and love and serve the God of the Word, I should do all I could to surround it with the spiritual equivalent of pits, thorn hedges and traps, to frighten people off… How?

Well, I should try to distract all clergy from preaching and teaching the Bible, and spread the feeling that to study this ancient book directly is a burdensome extra that modern Christians can forgo without loss. I should broadcast doubts about the truth and relevance and good sense and straightforwardness of the Bible, and if any still insisted on reading it I should lure them into assuming that the benefit of the practice lies in the noble and tranquil feelings evoked by it rather than in noting what Scripture actually says. At all costs I should want to keep them from using their minds in a disciplined way to get the measure of its message.

Psalm 19:7-14 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;     in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;     let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart     be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.  

Hebrews 1:1-3 1:1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…  

Hebrews 1:1-3; 13:11-14 1:1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high… 13:11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.   

Delighting in God’s Word Pray for delight in the Word of God  

Delighting in God’s Word Pray for delight in the Word of God Memorize Scripture  

Delighting in God’s Word Pray for delight in the Word of God Memorize Scripture Take your Bible into the great outdoors  

Delighting in God’s Word Pray for delight in the Word of God Memorize Scripture Take your Bible into the great outdoors Recapture zeal for the God of your youth (or become zealous for the 1st time)  

Delighting in God’s Word Pray for delight in the Word of God Memorize Scripture Take your Bible into the great outdoors Recapture zeal for the God of your youth (or become zealous for the 1st time) Do the work!  

Helpful Messages Knowing the Bible for All Its Worth by Douglas Stuart http://www.xenos.org/teachings/?teaching=3808 Interpreting the Bible for All Its Worth by Douglas http://www.xenos.org/teachings/?teaching=3809 Understanding for the Simple: Psalm 119 by D.A. Carson http://www.xenos.org/teachings/?teaching=3810 The Primary Responsibility of Busy Leaders: Deuteronomy 17:14-20 by D.A. Carson—http://www.xenos.org/teachings/?teaching=3812 Feeding on God: Cultivating a Fruitful Life in the Word by Mike Bullmore http://www.xenos.org/teachings/?teaching=1772 Against the Flow: Nurturing the Inner Life in a Fast Paced World by Mike Bullmore—http://www.xenos.org/teachings/?teaching=1773