Inwardly digest the scriptures
Blessed Lord,
who caused the holy Scriptures to be written for our learning;
Grant that we may so hear them,
read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that through patience, and the comfort of your holy Word,
we may embrace, and for ever hold fast,
the blessed hope of eternal life,
which you have given us in our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
What a wonderful prayer this is! It is a prayer that we may all use every day in our individual and family devotions. It is a prayer that should be used in our churches as we prepare to hear God’s word read and preached to us. And it is a prayer that is urgently needed for the Church of England and the church around the world today.
The collect begins by acknowledging God as the cause of the Scriptures. It is God who has given us the Bible, so that we may learn from it. We must thank God for giving us his word, so rich and deep in revelation of his glory, and yet so clear and accessible that it can bring any of us to true faith. We must trust that God has given us enough in his word to understand all that we need to know about him and his plan for our salvation.
The substance of the prayer is for a right hearing of the word. We know all too well that it is possible to hear the word and immediately forget it (James 1:22-25). It is possible to hear the word but fail to put it into practice (Luke 6:49). It is possible to hear the word and respond with initial enthusiasm but not let it take root, so that it withers away (Mark 4:16-17). Simply hearing the word is not enough.
Instead we need to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Scriptures. We must learn, as the Old Testament authors would say, how to meditate on God’s word. We need to understand it, we need to know it, and we need to digest it. That takes time and repetition. It takes careful thought and consideration. The word needs to settle in us, to become part of our patterns of thinking and speaking, to influence every action and word. It is an exercise of patience.
The purpose is not to become more knowledgeable or more able to win arguments. The goal of this meditation on Scripture is to embrace and hold fast the blessed hope of eternal life. Scripture makes us wise for salvation: it shows us who to trust and how. Scripture makes us wise for assurance: it shows us who to continue trusting and how. Scripture kindles our faith and Scripture keeps our faith firm.
Pray that your own Bible reading would follow this pattern and produce this effect: meditate on the word, let it influence your words and actions, and pray that it would give you assurance of your salvation.
Pray for the ministry of the word in your church, that together you will meditate on the word and grow in your assurance and faith.
Pray for the Church of England and the global Anglican Communion, that God’s word would be the source of all learning. Pray that all ministers would be committed to meditating on and submitting to God’s word in this way. Pray that the Scriptures would cause us all to embrace and hold fast to the hope of eternal life.
So pray this with me:
Blessed Lord,
who caused the holy Scriptures to be written for our learning;
Grant that we may so hear them,
read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that through patience, and the comfort of your holy Word,
we may embrace, and for ever hold fast,
the blessed hope of eternal life,
which you have given us in our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen.