“When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.” (Psalm 63:-8 NKJV)
David, the writer of this Psalm, gives an awesome explanation of the benefits of meditating upon God and His Word, the Bible. He is lying on his bed and meditating throughout the night. He remembers that it is God who has been with Him through the previous day and he can rest under the wings of his loving Father and Lord. He can also look forward to whatever the Lord has in store for him the next day because his God has always been faithful to carry him through the good times and the bad.
Pastor Roger Bennet, of Martinez, GA is an awesome man of God and is an excellent expounder of the Word of God. In a recent sermon of his he was talking about this very subject and he had these words to say:
“There is a vast difference between the study of Scripture and the meditation of Scripture. The study of Scripture centers on exegesis, the lifting out of the text only that which is in the text. But meditation on Scripture centers upon internalizing and personalizing the passage. In the study of Scripture, we gather information from technical studies and analysis that we can share with others. But meditation upon the Scripture, the written Word and the information grasped from our study of Scripture becomes the living word in our hearts.
In the study of Scripture, we gain an intellectual understanding of the Bible, but in the meditation upon Scripture, we not only intellectually understand it but we feel it, visualize it, touch it, smell it, taste it, and act upon it. Through Christian meditation we live the experience of Scripture. David said: ‘Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts.’ (Psalm 51:6)
The real reason you, as a Christian, may neglect the discipline of meditation is not because you are too busy or don’t have the time to meditate. The real reason you neglect the discipline of meditation is because you lack a heart for the things of God! Jesus said, ‘For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.’ (Mathew 6:21) Whatever occupies your heart will govern your actions.
In chapter four of the book of Proverbs, Solomon gives us several aspects in the meditative process which gives us a better picture of the meaning of the word meditation. Solomon said: ‘My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear unto my sayings. Don’t let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those that find them, and health to all their flesh…Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.’ (Proverbs 4:20-22,26)
‘Give attention to my words’ means keep these words (these thoughts of God) continually fixed in your mind. Meditation requires concentrating on the thoughts or words of God with the intent of comprehension and understanding. This kind of intense thinking takes determination and discipline. For the word is only fixed in our minds by turning it over and over and over again in our thoughts.
Then Solomon said, ‘incline your ear to my sayings’ (vs 21). Meditation is seeing events, things, people, and circumstances as God sees them. Our natural tendency is to see only the outward appearance of situations though our biological senses. But the Bible tells us, ‘God sees not as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’ (1 Samuel 16:7) God looks at the heart of man. God sees beneath the outward appearance of circumstances. So though meditation upon Scripture, ‘we look not at the things which are seen (through the five senses), but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.’(2 Cor. 4:18) Meditation brings us to a position in which we see everything (including ourselves) in the light of God’s truth.
Then Solomon said, ‘Keep them in the midst of your heart’ (vs 21). It is by meditating on God’s Word that we come to understand them, that our consciences are impressed by them, and that our wills are moved to do them. Reading the Word, hearing the Word preached, and studying the Word are not enough to transform the inner man. It is only by meditating on the Word, going over it again and again in our minds, that the word is tattooed on the brain and that it sets our hearts, hands, and feet to work.
Finally Solomon said, ‘Ponder the path of your feet. (vs 26). Meditation is the process whereby we allow the Word of God to rule in our hearts so that when we ponder the decisions we have to make today and tomorrow, the sovereign Word of God directs our path, guides our feet, and determines our decisions.” (Pastor Roger Bennet, Overcomers Church, Martinez, Ga, June 2023)
Wow! What an awesome encouragement to spend more time meditating on the Word of God today and for everyday for the rest of the time the Lord gives us on this planet!
PRAY
Lord God, my Savior, my Redeemer, and my Father, oh how I praise Your Holy Name! You are my “Strong tower” my “Deliverer” my “Refuge” and my King, I want to draw close to You and know You better each day.
Help to remember to meditate on You and Your Holy Word when I lie on my bed tonight and if I wake up during the night I will once again meditate on Your faithfulness and mercy to me.
Thank you that Your Word has been written down for me so that I can always have Your words of wisdom to meditate on and to direct my path each day of my life.
