Holy Bible, Book Divine
Holy Bible, Book Divine
Holy Bible, book divine,
Precious treasure, thou art mine;
Mine to tell me whence I came;
Mine to teach me what I am.
Mine to chide me when I rove;
Mine to show a Savior’s love;
Mine thou art to guide and guard;
Mine to punish or reward.
Mine to comfort in distress,
Suff’ring in this wilderness;
Mine to show, by living faith,
Man can triumph over death.
Mine to tell of joys to come,
And the rebel sinner’s doom;
O thou Holy Book divine,
Precious treasure, thou art mine.
SUNDAY SCHOOLS were introduced to England in 1780 by Robert Raikes, and they quickly spread across the country. There was no public school system, and most children could not read. Many had never even seen a Bible.
One of the first questions that the founders of Sunday schools had to answer was, “What shall we teach?” Some thought it best to have the children memorize catechisms, but Raikes and a young Sunday school teacher named John Burton taught the Bible. And if they needed to teach children to read, then they did that, too.
In 1803, when he was thirty, Burton published this hymn for children in his little book, Youth’s Monitor in Verse, a Series of Tales, Emblems, Poems and Songs. Three years later he included it in a second book, Hymns for Sunday Schools.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
From the book
