23 Poems About the Bible and the Power of God’s Word

God’s law demands one living faith,
Not a gaunt crowd of lifeless creeds;
Its warrant is a firm “God saith;”
Its claim, not words, but living deeds.

Yet, Lord, forgive; thy simple law
Grows tarnished in our earthly grasp;
Pure in itself, without a flaw,
It dims in our too-worldly clasp.

We handle it with unwashed hands;
We stain it with unhallowed breath;
We gloss it with device of man’s,
And hide thine image underneath.

Forgive the sacrilege, and take
From off our souls th’ unworthy stain;
And show us, for thy Son’s dear sake
Thy pure and perfect law again.

I love the volume of thy word;
What light and joy those leaves afford
To souls benighted and distressed!
Thy precepts guide my doubtful way,
Thy fear forbids my feet to stray,
Thy promise leads my heart to rest.

Thy threatenings wake my slumbering eyes,
And warn me where my danger lies;
But ’tis thy blessed gospel, Lord,
That makes my guilty conscience clean,
Converts my soul, subdues my sin,
And gives a free, but large reward.

Who knows the errors of his thoughts?
My God, forgive my secret faults,
And from presumptuous sins restrain;
Accept my poor attempts of praise,
That I have read thy book of grace,
And book of nature, not in vain.

How precious is the book divine,
By inspiration given!
Bright as a lamp its precepts shine,
To guide our souls to heaven.

It sweetly cheers our drooping hearts
In this dark vale of tears;
Life, light, and joy, it still imparts,
And quells our rising fears.

This lamp, through all the tedious night
Of life, shall guide our way,
Till we behold the clearer light
Of an eternal day.

Father of Mercies! in thy word
What endless glory shines!
For ever be thine name adored
For these celestial lines!

Here may the wretched sons of want
Exhaustless riches find;
Riches above what earth can grant,
And lasting as the mind.

Here the fair tree of knowledge grows,
And yields a rich repast:
Sublimer sweets than nature knows
Invite the longing taste.

Here springs of consolation rise
To cheer the fainting mind,
And thirsty souls receive supplies,
And sweet refreshment find.

Here the Redeemer’s welcome voice,
Spreads heavenly peace around;
And life and everlasting joys
Attend the blissful sound.

O may these heavenly pages be
My ever dear delight;
And still new beauties may I see,
And still increasing light.

Divine Instructor! gracious Lord,
Be thou for ever near;
Teach me to love thy sacred word,
And view my Saviour there!