Blessed be the Lord God who deigned to speak to us, dust and ashes, and who commanded His holy prophets to record His words to be kept for our benefit in the Holy Scripture, a light to guide us on the way.
The Holy Scripture is the great Book of God.
It is God’s words to us which His Holy Spirit spoke by the mouths of His holy prophets as we say in the Greed, and as the holy apostles say : “prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit;” “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Pet 1:21; 2 Tim 3:16)
The Holy Scripture is a message from God to you. Can anyone not rejoice at receiving a message from God?!
When St. Anthony the Great one day received a message from Emperor Constantine, his disciples were joyful. But the saint put it aside, so they wondered and were anxious to read it. So he said to them: “Why do you rejoice, my sons, at receiving a message from somebody? God has sent us so many messages in the Scripture, which we do not receive with the same joy and enthusiasm!! He afterwards read the emperor’s message and sent to him a letter of blessing.
You do the same! You rejoice at a letter you receive from a dear one, and you read it many times – should you not do the same with God’s message to you?
His message to you is spoken by His Spirit by the mouths of His prophets; a message full of spirit and understood by the Spirit.
The Lord says, “The words I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (Jn 6:63) They are nourishment to our spirits.
The Lord said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Mt 4:4; Deut 8:3) Indeed, for bread nourishes the body, but the spirit is nourished by the word of God recorded in His Scripture.
In the Holy Scripture we find our daily nourishment, for we live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
A godly person is delighted in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night (Ps 1,2). God’s commandments are not a heavy burden to him, but rather a cause of happiness. His relationship with the Scripture is perpetual and continual; he meditates in it day and night.
Such meditation is not only for monks but also for everybody. God said this to a centurion burdened with responsibilities, to Joshua the son of Nun, the successor of Moses, God said, “This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night…” (Jos 1:8).
These words were not addressed to Joshua alone, but to every righteous person as well (Ps 1:2).
David was a king and a leader and had a big family, but in spite of all his serious responsibilities, he said, “How I love Your law!” “Your law is a lamp to my feet and a light to my patch.” “I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure.” “The judgments of the Lord are… sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” His delight was in the law of the Lord!
From where did David get such a time as to meditate in the Lord’s words day and night?!
Our holy fathers used to learn by heart many Parts of the Scripture and apply them to their life. I wish we would make competitions in learning the Bible verses by heart, for as I once said:
Memorize the Bible and it will protect you. Memorize the Psalms and they will protect you. ?
When we memorize Bible verses we will be able to repeat them silently and meditate in their deep meanings wherever we go, even amidst people. In this way the Bible will be our best friend and companion.
Memorizing, repeating or meditating in the Bible verse is a virtue, and doing them is a greater virtue.
The Lord Christ therefore says, “Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a vise man who built his house on the rock.” (Mt 7:24) And in the Prayer for the Gospel we say:
“May be worthy of hearing and doing Your holy Gospels.”
Indeed, who are we to be worthy of hearing God’s words and be entrusted with His commandments?!
I even like that you write down in your own Bible your meditations and memories. Read and meditate, and go into the depths and mix the words with your spirit. Do not stop at the literal meaning, for it you meditate you will find that one verse is like a wide limitless sea. That is why David said:
“I have seen the consummation of all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad.” (Ps 119:96)
David said these words when these were nine Books only in the Scripture. Now we have the whole Scripture including the New Testament and all the prophesies; each work is a treasure for meditation.
The Holy Scripture is not a mere source of meditation, but also of comfort.
Whatever was the state of a person, he can find a word of comfort, joy, hope, and satisfaction. There is always a solution for one’s problems.
Take the effective words of the Scripture as a message addressed specially to you by God.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” For your sake the Spirit spoke by the mouths of the prophets. The letters sent to the Romans or the Corinthians or others are actually sent to you.
The Holy Scripture is not a mere comforting message, but it is also a weapon. Any sin faced by a commandment will weaken and a person will gain power. The word of the Lord is very powerful even if uttered by a small child!
The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb 4:12), therefore Satan in the temptation on the mount could not bear it.
The word of God will be a witness against us on the Last Day, if we do not obey it.
We have no excuse because we have the word of God not for mere knowledge but for life. Unless we comply with it, our conscience will not be at peace, and no excuses will be acceptable from the mind that follows the soul’s desires.
The word of God on our mouths is an evidence of our spirituality and religious affiliation.
Some people speak much worldly talks, while others speak from the Scripture words reflecting its language. Their speech betrays them
(Mt 26:73).
Let us then train our children to use the Bible verses in everything in their life. They will get used to them and will not know the language of the world or the sinners. Then they will not sin.
“Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Ps 119:11)
The word of God should be put in the heart, the center of emotions and love, not only on the mouth or in the mind the center of knowledge. The holy Virgin Mary “Kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Lk 2:19) On the other hand, those who kept the word God in their mind only sinned. Among those is our mother Eve who kept literally God’s command and repeated it to the serpent, but she broke it and sinned. So whenever you read the Scripture you will find something new, because God’s word is rich and deep and an inexhaustible spring of meditations.
God’s commandments are limitless, like their Giver. They continually open new fields of meditation before you.
See what David the Prophet says: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes… true and righteous altogether. More to be desired… than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” (Ps 19)
Every word you read will have its influence, power, and effectiveness on you without any need for explanation or preaching.
The mere mentioning of God’s word will convince anybody without much discussion or argument, and will make a person feel God’s presence and grace. His words will light the way before him.
The Holy Spirit who inspires the word gives the power for performing it, as on the Day of Pentecost when the people were cut to the heart on hearing the word. And St. Paul reminded his disciple Timothy that from childhood he had known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make him wise for salvation. A person finds in the word of God the divine guidance, as the Psalmist says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path,” “Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction.” (Ps 119) Hence the church attaches a great importance to the Scripture.
The Church’s interest in the Scripture?
In every Mass we read three chapters from the Gospel: one in the Vesper’s Incense Offering, one in the Morning Incense Offering, and the third in the Mass.
Moreover there are lections from the Pauline and the Catholicon Epistles, and from the Praxis, and some parts of the Psalms before reading the Gospel.
On reading the Gospel two deacons stand around holding candles as a sign that God’s word is a light…
There is also the Prayer preceding the Gospel where the priest prays that we deserve to hear and work according to the Holy Gospel by the supplication of the saints. And the deacon cries out: “Stand in fear of God and listen to the Holy Gospel.” Everybody stands in awe, the Patriarch removes the crown from his head as reverence to the word of God, the people kiss the Gospel to express their love to it, and the priest turns around the altar with the Gospel above his head as a sign of its spreading all over the world.
Furthermore, all the sermons and teaching are based on the Holy Scripture.
All the contents of the Scripture conform and support the Tradition handed down from the apostles and their successors.
The Gospel is present in our daily prayers:
In the seven Agpeya Prayers which contain parts of the Gospel and many psalms. They are prayed by the believers and by the church in the liturgies and in the church meetings.
The Gospel is read in each of Church Sacraments.
In the Sacrament of “Anointing of the Sick” for instance, seven chapters are read. In the Prayer sanctifying the baptism water some chapters are likewise read. Most of the Divine liturgy is based on biblical verses, and even in the Absolution Prayer some verses of the Gospel of John are mentioned; namely (Jn 20:22,23).
The same applies to the ritual prayers:
In the ritual of sanctifying the water, and that of sanctifying new houses, of consecrating churches, and of ordination of monks and nuns, many chapters of both Testaments are read. Also in the Apocalypse many chapters from the Old Testament, many praises, and the whole Book of Revelation are read. Many chapters from both Testaments are read in the Passion Week, in the Lent, in Jonah Fast, and in the Pascha Hours. Many passages of the Psalmody are based on the Scripture. In the ordination of patriarchs and bishops they put it over their heads as a sign of obeying it.
What are the benefits of reading the Scripture, how to read it, and what is your relationship with it? These questions I will answer in a series of articles – God willing.