The Word of God - The Dipper, Volume IV

The Word of God · The Dipper, Volume IV

Gary W. Boyd, PhD · Wells in the Wilderness

Seven ways of looking at one Book, a week at a time. Every day stands on its own — open wherever you are drawn. Each carries three depths and one question you cannot answer without going back to the text.

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Week 1

“O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it: Here is knowledg...” — John Wesley

Day 1 · The Word at workA king, a work crew, and a book nobody had missed
Day 2 · A self-portraitFire, and a hammer
Day 3 · The Word on a wordThe noun that will not stay in the dictionary
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingA scroll, a penknife, and a fire
Day 5 · A threadThe seed, Genesis to Revelation
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downDavid changes the subject
Day 7 · The turnThe man who checked the mirror and walked off

Week 2

“If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough to know...” — William Tyndale, as reported by John Foxe

Day 1 · The Word at workA wooden platform and a crowd that would not sit down
Day 2 · A self-portraitSweeter than honey
Day 3 · The Word on a wordA word Paul appears to have made up
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingA doctor checks his sources
Day 5 · A threadThe lamb, from a boy’s question to a throne
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downFour uses and one end
Day 7 · The turnEzra’s three verbs, in that order

Week 3

“Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” — Jerome

Day 1 · The Word at workThree answers in a wilderness
Day 2 · A self-portraitA lamp at your feet, not a floodlight on the road
Day 3 · The Word on a wordThe Word got a body
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingWhy John left things out
Day 5 · A threadBlood that speaks
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downRain does not come back up
Day 7 · The turnTwo houses, one storm

Week 4

“No one has been so bold as either to add any thing to them, to take any thing from them...” — Josephus

Day 1 · The Word at workA man reading out loud in a moving chariot
Day 2 · A self-portraitThe only offensive weapon in the armor
Day 3 · The Word on a wordThe word we translate law does not mean law
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingWrite what you see, and do not touch the edges
Day 5 · A threadThe tree, and what was hung on it
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downHeaven and earth will pass away
Day 7 · The turnThey checked the preacher

Week 5

“In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man.” — Abraham Lincoln

Day 1 · The Word at workSeven miles, and a Bible study nobody wrote down
Day 2 · A self-portraitSeed, and the four kinds of ground
Day 3 · The Word on a wordThe Scripture says, the Scripture foresaw
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingWe were there when it happened
Day 5 · A threadBread, from a priest with no genealogy to a table at Emmaus
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downSilver, seven times
Day 7 · The turnLet it move in

Week 6

“Translation it is that openeth the window, to let in the light; that breaketh the shell...” — The Translators to the Reader

Day 1 · The Word at workThe first sermon was an exposition
Day 2 · A self-portraitMilk, and the meat nobody was ready for
Day 3 · The Word on a wordA word that means solid ground
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingMoses wrote it down, and put it where nobody could edit it
Day 5 · A threadWater, from four rivers to one
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downNot the smallest letter
Day 7 · The turnHidden where it can be reached

Week 7

“These are fountains of salvation, that they who thirst may be satisfied with the living...” — Athanasius

Day 1 · The Word at workA gifted preacher gets corrected in somebody’s living room
Day 2 · A self-portraitA mirror is for looking at yourself
Day 3 · The Word on a wordThe word you say at the end
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingPaul, in his own handwriting
Day 5 · A threadThe Name, from a whisper to a rider nobody can read
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downWritten for us
Day 7 · The turnWhat he left them with

Week 8

“This is the cause of all evils, the not knowing the Scriptures. We go into battle witho...” — John Chrysostom

Day 1 · The Word at workA man reads a number and starts to pray
Day 2 · A self-portraitGoads and nails, given by one Shepherd
Day 3 · The Word on a wordThus says the LORD
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingWrite it plain, so a runner can read it
Day 5 · A threadThe dwelling, from a tent to no temple at all
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downLiving and active
Day 7 · The turnReceived as what it actually is

Week 9

“Scripture exhibits fully as clear evidence of its own truth as white and black things d...” — John Calvin

Day 1 · The Word at workA defense that was mostly a history lesson
Day 2 · A self-portraitWorth more than the thing everyone is working for
Day 3 · The Word on a wordThe book, the scroll, the thing you can burn
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingThe men of Hezekiah copied these out
Day 5 · A threadThe Shepherd, from a dying man’s blessing to a throne
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downSettled in heaven
Day 7 · The turnCutting it straight

Week 10

“Here may all manner of persons, men, women, young, old, learned, unlearned, rich, poor...” — Thomas Cranmer

Day 1 · The Word at workA grandmother, a mother, and a boy
Day 2 · A self-portraitWashing, with water and a word
Day 3 · The Word on a wordTestimonies — the word that means evidence
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingOne apostle calls another apostle Scripture
Day 5 · A threadThe city, from a tower to a bride
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downNot one word failed
Day 7 · The turnOn your heart, then on theirs

Week 11

“O Book! infinite sweetness! let my heart suck every letter, and a honey gain, precious...” — George Herbert

Day 1 · The Word at workA king sends teachers instead of soldiers
Day 2 · A self-portraitA fire shut up in the bones
Day 3 · The Word on a wordThe word that means a promise you can hold Him to
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingThe writer who keeps naming his sources
Day 5 · A threadThe marriage, from a garden to a supper
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downThis is the one I esteem
Day 7 · The turnIf you continue

Week 12

“In the Old the New lies hidden, and in the New the Old is opened up.” — Augustine

Day 1 · The Word at workHe rolled up the scroll and sat down
Day 2 · A self-portraitLike rain, like dew on new grass
Day 3 · The Word on a wordThe oracles of God
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingWrite this song and teach it to them
Day 5 · A threadThe mountain, from a fence to a city
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downExalted above all His name
Day 7 · The turnBlessed rather

Week 13

“I never had in all my life so great an inlet into the Word of God as now. Those Scriptu...” — John Bunyan

Day 1 · The Word at workPreach to the bones
Day 2 · A self-portraitA stone people trip over
Day 3 · The Word on a wordThe word that means both an oracle and a load
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingIt seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us
Day 5 · A threadLight, from the first word spoken to a city with no lamp
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downI am watching over My word
Day 7 · The turnIn season and out of season

Week 14

“That there is a God I see. If ever this God hath revealed himself, it must bee in his w...” — Anne Bradstreet

Day 1 · The Word at workNothing beyond what the prophets said
Day 2 · A self-portraitA plumb line held against a wall
Day 3 · The Word on a wordThe most misquoted verse about vision
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingThe line above the psalm
Day 5 · A threadThe vine, from a planted hill to a true one
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downMany times and many ways, and then a Son
Day 7 · The turnThe one blessing on reading out loud

Week 15

“Here you will find the swaddling clothes and the manger in which Christ lies. Simple an...” — Martin Luther

Day 1 · The Word at workYou are mistaken because you do not know
Day 2 · A self-portraitA trumpet that has to be certain
Day 3 · The Word on a wordPrecepts — the word for what a man is charged with
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingIn my former book
Day 5 · A threadThe exodus, and the one He accomplished at Jerusalem
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downHe spoke, and it came to be
Day 7 · The turnLest we drift

Week 16

“Scripture is like a river, shallow enough here that a lamb may wade, and deep enough th...” — Gregory the Great

Day 1 · The Word at workA boy who did not know the voice
Day 2 · A self-portraitMore than my daily bread
Day 3 · The Word on a wordThe council nobody was elected to
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingTwo men who wrote because they had to
Day 5 · A threadThe priesthood, from one tribe to a whole people
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downThe secret things and the revealed things
Day 7 · The turnA tree planted by streams

Week 17

“Truth, not eloquence, is to be sought in reading the Holy Scriptures; and every part mu...” — Thomas à Kempis

Day 1 · The Word at workMidnight in a jail, and a household
Day 2 · A self-portraitA polished arrow, kept in a quiver
Day 3 · The Word on a wordThe commandment, and the finger that wrote it
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingThe men who left in their own worst moments
Day 5 · A threadRest, from the seventh day to a rest that remains
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downYou search the Scriptures, and you will not come
Day 7 · The turnReceive it the way soil receives seed

Week 18

“The preaching of the word of God unto the people is called meat. Scripture calleth it m...” — Hugh Latimer

Day 1 · The Word at workThe king’s men went to a woman
Day 2 · A self-portraitAn inheritance a man takes
Day 3 · The Word on a wordStatutes — the word that means cut in
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingThe prophets searched their own writing
Day 5 · A threadThe covenant, and the night God walked alone
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downFaith comes by hearing
Day 7 · The turnWe will come and make Our home

Week 19

“I seemed often to see so much light exhibited by every sentence, and such a refreshing...” — Jonathan Edwards

Day 1 · The Word at workWhile Peter was still speaking
Day 2 · A self-portraitA table set for people with no money
Day 3 · The Word on a wordGood news was a word for a battlefield
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingThe notes at the ends of books
Day 5 · A threadThe Spirit, from hovering to an invitation
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downEvery word is flawless, and He is a shield
Day 7 · The turnThey devoted themselves

Week 20

“We should leave things of that nature to God who created us, being most properly assure...” — Irenaeus

Day 1 · The Word at workThen He opened their minds
Day 2 · A self-portraitHis name is the Word of God
Day 3 · The Word on a wordFulfilled — the word that joins the Testaments
Day 4 · What the writer says he is doingThese words are trustworthy and true
Day 5 · A threadThe other book
Day 6 · One verse, all the way downAnd this is the word that was preached to you
Day 7 · The turnCome

Read it all at once

Every day, every depthThe complete volume on one page

This volume is complete — 20 weeks, 140 days. It is meant to be dipped into rather than read straight through: open any day, in any order, at whatever depth you have time for. Free to read, free to reprint, free to pass on.

Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible, which is in the public domain and carries no restriction on its use.

drgaryboyd.com · Wells in the Wilderness · Volume I at the-dipper.netlify.app · Volume II at 365waystopraise.netlify.app

Contact anchored-institute.org/contact or drgaryboyd@gmail.com

The Word of God · The Dipper, Volume IV · Gary W. Boyd, PhD · The Anchored Institute

Licensed CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 — free to share and reprint with attribution, unchanged and not for sale.