For Reading and Meditation:
Isaiah 40:1-11
What do we mean when we say that the Bible is "inspired"? There are various views. One is natural inspiration - that the Bible is inspired in the same way that any work of genius is, like Pilgrim's Progress for example. Another view is of partial inspiration, which claims that the Bible is not a scientific textbook and therefore cannot be trusted in scientific matters, such as the origin of the species. It is, however, to be trusted in matters that relate to salvation. The third view can be described as dictational inspiration - that God dictated the Bible to its writers verbatim, as a businessman would dictate a letter to a secretary. The fourth view is of verbal inspiration, which holds that every word in the Bible came from the mouth of God. The fifth and final view is of supervisal inspiration - that nothing is included in the Bible which God did not want there and nothing is omitted which was meant to have a place in the sacred book. I hold to the last view - supervisal inspiration. I rule out natural inspiration and partial inspiration, but not necessarily dictational inspiration, at least in part. Large sections of the Bible were personally dictated to men by God, the Ten Commandments being just one example. The writers of the Bible were, I believe, divinely indemnified against errors of observation, lapses of memory, and unintentional misrepresentation of facts. Their writings were honest, accurate, and supervised by the Holy Spirit before being compiled into this wonderful book we call the Bible. No wonder it is often referred to as the "book of books."
O God, I know Your Word is inspired, for it inspires me. Help me to have Your Word hidden in my heart so deeply that it becomes the hidden spring of action, determining my conduct and my character. In Jesus' Name. Amen.