When folks in the old country churches called the Bible the “Good Book,” they were not being poetic. They were naming the truth of their lives. The Bible has been the anchor of faith for generations, a lamp in dark valleys, and a steady guide when the world seemed to shake. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). It has walked with the farmer in his field, the mother rocking her child to sleep, the elder praying at the edge of death. The Good Book isn’t a nicknack to sit untouched; it is a living word meant to shape the soul.
The words inside it hold weight because they come from God. When the prophet Baruch wrote, he told Israel to cling to wisdom, “Learn where is wisdom, where is strength, where is understanding; that thou mayest know also where is length of days, and life, where is the light of the eyes, and peace” (Baruch 3:14). Wisdom isn’t found in wandering winds but in the counsel of the Lord, preserved for us in the Scriptures. The Bible bears the history of the people of God, the Commandments that point us toward righteousness, and the promises that never fail.
Trusting the Good Book means more than quoting it when convenient or cherry picking. It means placing your heart under its authority, letting it direct your steps. “The grass withereth, and the flower falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever” (1 Peter 1:24–25). The land may dry up in drought, barns may stand empty, and storms may lay low even the strongest oak, but the Word doesn’t shift with the seasons. It endures when all else fades. That’s why families read it aloud on their porches and why preachers cry it from pulpits. It is solid ground in a world full of sinkholes.
In these Southern hills, where life is hard and death is always close, folks have always leaned on that old Good Book. It’s not distant or untouchable. It is read by coal oil lamp, prayed over at gravesides, and carried into revival tents. Trusting in it is trusting in the God who spoke it into being. As Ecclesiasticus says, “All wisdom cometh from the Lord, and is with him forever.” (Ecclesiasticus 1:1). To trust the Bible is to trust the Lord who inspired it and the church that gave it, knowing His word is as steady as the mountains and as enduring as the rivers that carve through this land. Those who walk in its truth find life, and those who drink from its springs never thirst in vain.
“Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” – Isaiah 55:1
“The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul: The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple.” – Psalm 19:7