Seven Books That The Lord Has Written

Seven Books That The Lord Has Written:

I believe the book of Job was the earliest book of the Bible ever written, approximately about 1800 BC, before Moses wrote the Pentateuch. It is interesting to read his desire for the Scriptures, for a written record, before there was ever one word penned (though, according to the Psalms 119:89, God's Word has already been recorded in Heaven from eternity - as hard as that may be to understand).

Psalms 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Job 19:23-24 Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!

Job 31:35-36 Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book. Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.

1) The Book of the Lord, the Scriptures, the Word of God:

Isaiah 34:16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.

Psalms 40:6-8 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

The Scriptures are all about Jesus Christ and the salvation found in Him - in fact, He is the heart or the spirit of the Word of God, and it is all about Him.

Revelation 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The Bible's testimony (ie. witness) of Jesus is the central focus of the Book of Lord.

Luke 24:25-27 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luke 24:44-47 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

John 5:39, 45-46 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me... Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.

Acts 10:42-43 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

1 Peter 1:10-11 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

2) The Book of our Trials:

Psalms 56:8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

This is one of the most comforting verses in the Old Testament. The fact that the Lord God takes note of each trial, each tear, each struggle, shows His tremendous love for His people. Please read this devotional if you would like to dig deeper into this theme: Thou Tellest My Wanderings.

It is like Hagar stated when she was wandering in her own wilderness:

Genesis 16:13 And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

God does see us, He knows us, He sympathizes with us - because He cares for us.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Psalms 8:3-4 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

What is man? Someone that the Lord cares about and wants to save. He is with us in every trial, waiting to help us, waiting to strengthen us and give us the victory - waiting to run to our cry - every time we cry out from the heart in repentance and faith, in trust.

Hebrews 2:17-18 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

In both of the previous two Bible passages, the words for succour and help literally mean, "run to the cry." That has become one of my all-time favourite word definitions that I have ever learned. Jesus is there, waiting for our cry, then He will come leaping over the difficulties (meaning of the word Bether in the following verse):

Song of Songs 2:17 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

While we are in this flesh, while we are waiting until the break of day when the Lord Jesus Christ returns at the rapture to meet us in the air, where He will remove our sinful human nature, He is just a heart's cry away from helping us in our need.

3) The Book of our Creation by the Heavenly Potter:

Psalms 139:13-18 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

This is the book of our physical composition; our mental, emotional, and spiritual characteristics. Here the Lord God says He wrote down all that was important to Him about us. Just like a parent will often take a young child's lock of hair or a tooth that has fallen out and keep them stored in an album to be treasured, along with all their favourite pictures, even so the Lord is treasuring a book about each one of His children.

As a young believer, I used to get discouraged because many would mock me for being a serious person, having a sober mentality the majority of the time. Because of my dark past, I found it hard to be easy-going, to be laughing all the time, and even my fellow Christians would make me feel like there was something wrong with me. Until I talked to a Bible counsellor about it. She showed me Psalm 139:13, and explained how reins is your personality, what drives you, what makes you tick - just like reins drive a horse, our reins are what determines the way we think, what catches our attention, what makes us the way we are. Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines reins as, "In Scripture, the inward parts; the heart, or seat of the affections and passions."

God created me. He created my personality. He even created my physical makeup. When the world wants to bring you down because of your physical appearance or your personality, or even the way you think - remember God Himself made you the way you are! Of course, I am not referring to any sinful characteristics. If there is anything that is spiritually wrong with the way we think or look at life, then we need to make sure we get a Biblical worldview by letting the Scriptures transform our minds. But if we are discouraged because we think a little differently than some others around us, or we worry that we are too tall or too short, or even that we have a birth defect of some kind, we need to remember that our Father in His Heavenly wisdom chose to make us that way. We need to accept it by faith, and not let the world, the flesh or the Devil and his minions tell us otherwise.

I love these two verses next to each other in the Bible. Though a chapter apart (or only a line apart because they are in two different Psalms), their ideas are so wonderful.

Psalms 40:17 But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

Psalms 41:1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

Here the Lord is saying those are blessed who consider (think about) the poor, then He tells us that is what He does toward us. He literally considers Himself blessed because He is thinking about His own people! He records all His thoughts about us in one book, and in the very next book we read about, we see our Heavenly Father recording all our precious thoughts about Him.

4) The Book of Remembrance:

Malachi 3:16-17 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

Every time you fellowship with other believers and think about your Saviour, the Lord is writing it down. It matters to Him that you seek Him and that you take much joy in speaking about Him to others.

Matthew 18:19-20 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

Though it is beyond the scope of this devotional to do more than touch down on this previous study, in Is Your Armour On? I point out that the believer in the Song of Solomon had become careless in her walk with the Lord, had become complacent. She didn't even get up to answer His knock on her door. By the time she eventually opened it, Jesus had left. She wandered about in the streets, distraught, looking to restore fellowship with her Saviour AND she could not find Him until she started to witness about Him to the daughters of Jerusalem (they are the lost people around us who do not know the Lord). After she got her focus back where it belonged, we read the following exciting query:

Song of Songs 6:1 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.

Now that she was waxing eloquently about her Beloved, they see that Jesus mattered to her, and they wanted to know more about Him.

Song of Songs 6:2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.

When she started thinking about Jesus again instead of her comfort and her luxuries in this life, she remembered where He was - she had her focus back now, and now she had an influence on those around her:

Song of Songs 7:9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

Do you talk about Jesus with the lost, do they see your love and devotion to Him? Do you speak about Him excitedly with other believers, sharing your testimony and how He is answering your prayers and working in your life? Your Heavenly Father hears this, and is pleased. He writes it down in His book as a memorial.

5) The Book of their Works:

Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

A recurring theme in Scripture is that one day we will all give account for what we have done in this life. If we are saved, our sins are washed away, and we will give account for our service at the Judgement Seat of Christ, for our deeds done in Jesus' name. However, if we die without knowing the Saviour, we will have to give account for every sinful deed we have ever done, every sinful thought we have ever entertained. Those sins will not be covered, and they are all written in the book of their works. The only people who will face this condemnation at the Great White Throne Judgement will be the lost, those who have never trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. It will be a time of fear and horrible anticipation for the eternal judgement that is about to be pronounced on them.

John 5:26-29 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Matthew 5:27-28 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Matthew 12:36-37 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

Matthew 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

I never want to be judged by the Lord for all the sinful things I have ever done. The good news is we do not have to do so. The Bible teaches the Lord Jesus Christ died for ALL of mankind's sins upon the cross of Calvary. He shed His precious blood and through faith in His finished work of redemption, those sins are blotted out and taken away forever. His last words before dying were, "It is finished." Three days later, He physically arose from the grave, and will save forever all those who will place their trust in Him, turning in their hearts (which is what repentance is) from those sins that condemned them to the Saviour.

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Salvation is a free gift, but you must receive it for it to be yours - you must receive the Saviour.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 1:10-13 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Romans 5:6-10 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

6) The Book of the Living:

Psalms 69:28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.

Exodus 32:32-33 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

The name of every person who ever lived was written in the book of the living, but if they die without Jesus Christ, then they are no longer living in His sight and their names are removed. On the opposite side of this issue, if a true believer dies physically, they are still considered alive in the sight of God, as eternal life is knowing the Lord. See John 11:25-26; 17:3; 1 John 5:20; Mark 12:27.

This makes perfect sense. As long as someone is alive, they have a chance to be saved from their sins and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. The records of their lives are written down, their names are written down in this book, as long as they are alive on this earth. But once an unbeliever dies, they also have lost all opportunity to know the Lord and to be forgiven, to be reconciled to Him. The appointment to be saved ends the moment the appointment with death occurs. Now that their spirit and soul has separated from their body, they are dead physically, and that leads to spiritual death - the second death - separation from God eternally in the lake of fire. See James 2:26 and Revelation 20:14.

Ecclesiastes 9:4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

7) The Lamb’s Book of Life:

Revelation 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

This book is contrasted with the book of the living. (See the previous point.) People often mix up these two books. The Lamb's book of life contains the name of every true believer in it, written down in it from the foundation of the world, and according to the promise of God, their names will never be removed or blotted out from it:

Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

An overcomer according to the Word of God (and this same writer, in his Gospel and in his first epistle) is a true believer, someone who has placed their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ - not someone who lives some spectacular spiritual life, but someone who in the eyes of the Lord is an overcomer because they are united to the Lord Jesus Christ forever and have the Holy Spirit indwelling them forever.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

1 John 5:4-5 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Those whom the Lord knew would never trust Him for salvation never had their names written down in the Lamb’s book of life, as they were never alive in His sight, never knew the Lord Jesus Christ or God the Father.

It is noteworthy that both the book of the living and the Lamb’s book of life will be balanced in eternity. In both, only the saved will have their names in those books. The lost will have had their names removed from the book of the living and they were never written in the Lamb’s book of life in the first place.

How about you - Is Your Name Written Down? I hope you. Eternity is a long time to live with the regret and shame of not knowing the Lord. But at the same time, eternity with the Saviour will be so filled with never-ending wonder and glory. What have you done with Jesus? Is your name written down in any of these books? As much as I would love to have all my loved ones names written down in the books that record their faith and their fellowship with the Saviour, it all starts with making sure your name is recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life.

If you are not sure, please take the time to read, God's Simple Plan Of Salvation, and make sure where you will spend eternity.

September 29th, 2026
Jerry Bouey