The Power of the Living Word

Great and mighty things are spoken of thee, and done by thee, O holy Word! So pure and pow­erful is the light of that joy which thou kindlest in the saint's bosom, that it quencheth all sinful carnal joy with its beams, as the sun doth the fire on the hearth. Thou conquerest the horror of death, that it is not feared. Thou vanquishest the pains thereof, that they are not felt.

Devils know thee, and flee be­fore thee, quitting, at sight of thee, their holds, and leave those consciences which they had so long under their power and tyranny, for thee to enter with thy sweet consolations. Thou quenchest the flames of hell itself, and makest the soul that even now was thrown bound by despair into the fiery furnace of God's wrath, to walk comfortably and unsinged amidst the thoughts thereof.

Thou bringest heaven down to earth, and givest the believing soul a prospect of that heavenly Jerusalem which is so far off, as if he were walking in the blessed streets thereof; yea, so that sometimes he forgetteth he is in the body, even when pains and torments are upon him.

The word of God hath the power of conversion, which none but God—who is the ‘God of all grace’—can produce. When John’s disciples came to Christ to be resolved who he was, whether the Messiah or not, Christ neither tells them he was, or was not he; but sends them to take their answer from the marvellous works he did. ‘Go,’ saith he, ‘and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see; the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them,’ Matt. 11:4-5. By all these instances Christ’s (intention) was to give a (visible) demonstration (for) their faith, that he, who did such miracles, could be no other than he whom they sought.

The converting power of the word is the greatest wonder of them all, and comprehends in it all the other. When souls are converted, ‘the blind receive their sight.’ You were ‘darkness’ (Ephesians 5:8), but now ‘light in the Lord.’ ‘The lame walk,’ in that the affections—the soul’s feet—are set at liberty, and receive strength to run the ways of God with delight. Lepers are cleansed, in that filthy lusts are cured, and foul souls are sanctified.

The word of God hath a heart-searching power, whereby it ransacks and rifles the consciences of men. When you find your heart disclosed, and the secret thoughts therein laid open unto you in the word, you may easily conclude that God is in it.

Robert Haldane Commentary on Romans

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Every page of the sacred volume is stamped with the impress of Deity, and contains an inexhaustible treasure of wisdom, and knowledge, and consolation. Some portions of the word of God, like some parts of the material creation, may be more important than others. But all have their proper place, all proclaim the character of their glorious Author, and all ought to be earnestly and reverentially studied. Whatever be their subject, whether it relates to the history of individuals or of nations, whether it contains the words of precept or exhortation, or whether it teaches by example, all is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, furnished for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

A.B. Simpson

The Word of God creates what it commands. When Christ says to any of us Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you (John 15:3), we are clean. When He says no condemnation (Romans 8:1) there is none, though there may have been a lifetime of sin before. And when He says, mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds (2 Corinthians 10:4), then the weak are strong. This is faith's part-to make it real.

Why not take God's creating words of justification, sanctification, power and deliverance and thus make real the mighty promise, He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. . . . But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength (Isaiah 40:29, 31).

Nathaniel Vincent The Spirit of Prayer

https://books.google.com/books?id=Bb8sAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA4-IA11&lpg

If the Word is understood, believed, thought on, loved, stood in awe of; if it thus abide in us, we shall be strong,

and overcome the evil one.

Bishop John Jewel, A Treatise of the Holy Scriptures, 1570

https://confessionalbibliology.com/2017/09/29/treatise-of-the-holy-scriptures-by-john-jewel-part-1/

The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit; the more it is used, the brighter it shines.

A.W. Tozer "Some Live Words For Today's Church"

http://books.google.com/books?id=eieCXOh7zl8C&pg=PA167&lpg