“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (Jn 17:17).
Noah Webster (1758-1843) was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to a weaver and his wife. Educated at Yale, in 1783 he wrote A Grammatical Institute of the English Language, earning its nickname, the “Blue-Backed Speller,” because of its blue cover. For over 100 years, Webster’s book taught children to read, spell, and pronounce words, selling nearly 100 million copies.
He is most remembered for his dictionary, which, in its original editions, contains excellent definitions of Bible words. He wrote, “The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambitions, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.” It was the Lord’s petition for us, and one we should make our own. “Lord, sanctify us through Your truth today.”