How then DID God preserve His Word. What does the Bible SAY about it?
You and I might have "faith" that God preserved it, but the basis of that faith had better be in the revealed Word!
Sorry I took so long to answer, but here we go:
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing, by the word of God.
I once asked my dad if this wasn't circular reasoning; how did he KNOW the Bible is the word of God? He said, "You've said there is a Supreme Being, that the universe and the life upon earth didn't just come from a chance mix of certain elements, that quarks, the most basic elementary particles known, didn't just will themselves into existence. Well, only the collection of works that we call the Bible claims to be His messages to all mankind, and of all the prophecies ever made in the history of man, only those in the Bible have come 100% true right down the line so far. The existence of a sovereign Jewish nation in possession of Jerusalem should tell you something. I'm old enough to remember that the idea of a sovereign Jewish nation in their old territory again was a seemingly-impossible dream, but God accomplished what man could not, in accordance with His word. And for me, it started with FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST when I believed the Bible is God's word to mankind. Having faith that Jesus is Lord, Savior, and God led me to believe that His words as recorded in Scripture are indeed His words rendered into my language. And Jesus quoted OT Scripture frequently. He also said, 'Heaven & earth shall passaway, but My words shall never pass away.' He also said,'Scripture cannot be broken'."
"Then, there's the history of the Bible. Ever since God first gave any of His word to us, it's been in continuous use. Father passed it to son; friend passed it to friend. yes, I know the Q'ran has been more or less in constant use since its writing, but the Bible was already quite old by then, and since then, only the prophecies in the BIBLE have come to pass, while those in any other "holy book" have either passed their time limits or are so broad that almost anything can be cited as their fulfillment."
Dad then showed me the LITERAL fulfillment that the site of Tyre would become a place for fishermen to spread their nets. He pointed out the many literal fulfillments of other prophecies & challenged me to match the Bible's "track record" with any other "holy book".
"Therefore, son, when you read the Bible, you can have faith that it's indeed God's word to man."
I wasn't saved at the time. But, because of the prayers of Mom & Dad, and many other Christians who cared about me, and the LOVE, GRACE, AND PATIENCE OF JESUS CHRIST I was saved Thanxgiving day, 1979. And with my faith in Jesus as savior, Lord, and God came the faith that the Bible is His messages to all mankind.
What does the Bible say about God's word? Well, God told Moses to write His commandments, then He told Moses to write for Joshua, in a book, His remembrance to destroy Amalek. He told various other of His prophets, such as jeremiah, to write His words. The OT had been established as Scripture long before Jesus came, so there's no questioning its authority. The words of Jesus that he wanted preserved are Scripture, of course, and Peter declared Paul's epistles Scripture. And long before this, David knew that God's words(to mankind) were already settled in heaven forever.
Thus, I have full faith that God has preserved and presented His words to us as He has chosen.