Examples of Biblical Meditation

“The hearing of the Word may affect us, but the meditating upon it transforms us.” 

-Thomas Watson

About two months ago, I taught a Sunday school lesson on Christian meditation (you can listen to it at this link). I began by addressing problems related to meditation (e.g. not meditating, meditating on sinful or unhelpful things, meditation driven by false religion). I also noted the various uses of the term: there is a place for counting sheep to help you sleep, but this is not a form of spirituality nor is it what the Bible has in mind when it speaks of meditation. 

God exhorts his people to meditate on his word (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:2, 119:23, 78), on what he has done (Psalm 143:5, 145:5), and on the glorious splendor of his majesty (Psalm 145:5). In Psalm 143:5, this practice is described with three parallel terms: remember, meditate, ponder. Bringing these passages together, Thomas Watson described biblical meditation in this way: “It is a holy exercise of the mind whereby we bring the truths of God to remembrance, and do seriously ponder upon them and apply them to ourselves” (Heaven Taken by Storm, p. 23).

Not only does Scripture tell us to meditate and on what to meditate, but it also gives us examples of what meditation looks like. Consider these three Psalms:

Psalm 19. This psalm is described as a meditation in the final verse (19:14). There are three things on which the psalm meditates. The first is God's revelation of himself through his creation. For the first six verses, the Psalm looks up to the sky and considers how it displays the wisdom and majesty of God to all the earth. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork" (19:1). The second thing on which the psalm reflects is the word of God. For five verses, it reflects on the attributes of God's word, attributes which reflect its divine author. It observes that Scripture is perfect, life-giving, trustworthy, morally upright, pure, enlightening, true, giving joy and wisdom even to the simple. Therefore it is of great benefit to those who read it and observe it. It turns them from danger unto salvation. The word is more precious than fine gold; it is sweeter than honey. The third thing on which the psalm meditates is the self. It turns from examining the creation and God's word to self-examination. "Who can discern his errors?" (19:12) Our sins and need for mercy are particularly noticeable after reflecting on God's works and word. And so the meditation ends with a prayer for forgiveness and sanctification. "Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!" (19:12-13) 

Psalm 77. This psalm recounts a meditation which moves from discouragement to hope. The psalmist begins his meditation during a restless night in a troubled state of mind: "when I meditate, my spirit faints" (77:3). Then in verse 6, he revolves to meditate in his heart and make diligent search with his spirit, considering questions like "Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased?" (77:7–8a). Then in verse 10 he appeals to the character of God revealed by his past deeds and resolves to bring these deeds to remembrance. "I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds" (77:12). In the rest of the psalm, he recounts God's works of deliverance, how he led his people like a flock through the sea by the hand of Moses and Aaron. This meditation is both an encouragement to the psalmist and an appeal to God to act in accordance with his past deeds. 

Psalm 104. This psalm, like Psalm 19, is described as a meditation at the end of the psalm, "May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD" (104:34). The psalm is an extended meditation on God’s works in nature. It meditates on his work of creation and his ongoing work of providence. After observing and describing these works, it notes how they display his wisdom (104:24), generosity (104:27-28), sovereignty (104:29-30, 32), and glory (104:31). The result is that these observations move the psalmist to joy (104:34), worship (104:33), and a zeal for God and his reign (104:35). 

In all of these examples, God's word, works, and character are brought to mind and pondered. Implications are drawn out and observations are made. And all three of these examples are practical. The meditations leads to conviction, comfort, joy, and reverence. 

This kind of thoughtful meditation might not be natural to you. The mind likes to wander and there are many things that call out for our attention. It takes self-discipline to focus our mind. It takes some resolve to set aside time to think. But the effort is worth it. Meditation is good for us. It allows the word of God to settle more deeply into our minds and hearts. To benefit from food, not only do you need to chew it and swallow it. You also need to digest it. And as cows digest their food by chewing the cud, so we have need to recall what we have heard and read and to chew on it more to receive its nourishment. 

Using Arguments in Prayer

“God loves to be overcome with strength of argument. 

Thus, when we come to God in prayer for grace,

let us be argumentative.”

-Thomas Watson (1620-1686)

Prayer, as it is modeled in the Bible, includes arguments which give force to its requests. We should be argumentative with God, not by being quarrelsome, but by earnestly presenting our case before God, appealing to his character and promises. God calls us not only to list our requests, but also to give him reasons to grant our requests.

For example, when Jacob prayed to be delivered from his brother Esau in Genesis 32:9-12, he gave several arguments to support his request. First, he appealed to God proven faithfulness to his father and grandfather. Second, he appealed to God's word to him, how God had told him to return to his kindred that he might do him good (not harm). Third, he appealed to God's grace, noting that God had shown him undeserved steadfast love and blessing up to this point. Fourth, he appealed to God's promise to do him good and to multiply his offspring, which would not happen if he and his family were killed by Esau. Interestingly, this wrestling with God in prayer was followed by a literal wrestling match where Jacob refused to let go until he received a blessing (Gen. 32:22-32). In the end, God granted his request and gave him favor and peace with his brother.

This pattern can be seen in many of the prayers recorded in the Bible, as well as in many of the Psalms. In fact, a useful exercise in studying the Psalms of supplication is to follow the song's argument - what is being asked for and how does the singer seek to move God to act? For example, in Psalm 6, the singer asks that God would spare him and deliver his life, appealing first to God's compassion by presenting his own languishing condition, troubled and weak with grief (6:2-3, 6-7), second to God's steadfast love (6:4), and third to God's zeal for his glory by noting that God will be remembered and praised by those whom he saves (6:5).

Sometimes our case for our requests may be very strong, based on clear and specific promises of God. Other times our case is weak. We should realize that God might have better arguments, better reasons for not granting our requests. This was the case when Paul asked for the removal of his "thorn in the flesh," likely some type of physical weakness. Though Paul pleaded for its removal three times, God had good arguments for not removing it: it taught Paul humility, contentment, and a reliance on the grace and power of God (2 Cor. 12:7-10).

But even though we should be humble before God and submissive to his will, we should nevertheless present our best case for our requests. If we have no arguments, then why are we making the request? If God has no reason to grant it, then why make it? Giving arguments draws out your desires and fleshes out your requests. It also gives you a practical knowledge of God's attributes and promises. As you appeal to them, you apply them to your own situation and better see how they are relevant to you. This also helps you to see God's attributes and promises at work when your requests are fulfilled.

Psalm 42 - Genevan Psalter

As many churches have had their normal public worship interrupted due to the coronavirus, it seems that Psalm 42 is a fitting song for this evening. We can be thankful that modern technology allows for us to still participate together to some extent through livestream video (my church's worship service from this morning can be found here), but we can still wistfully remember "how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival" (Psalm 42:4). Here is Psalm 42 sung by the Jubilee Octet from the New Genevan Psalter (which uses a new translation and the original 1551 Genevan tunes and arrangements).

Principles for Singing the Psalms

My church sings Psalms. We do not sing only Psalms - we use the Trinity Hymnal (1990) in addition to the Book of Psalms for Singing (1973) - but on a given Lord's Day usually about half of our songs will be from the Psalms, sometimes more. Singing (or praying) the Psalms can be a bit confusing when someone is unfamiliar with how to interpret and apply them in the new covenant era. So here are a few principles to keep in mind when singing the Psalms today.

1. View the lyrics of the Psalms as formative words. The Psalms are God's word, as well as words intended to be sung by His people. Thus, not only do they teach you truths (about God, Jesus, the church, yourself), but they are designed to shape your affections, your prayers, and your hopes as they teach you how to direct and express them. And so when you come to a Psalm that rubs you the wrong way, seek to understand it properly and then let the Psalm form your sensibilities, rather than let your sensibilities judge the Psalm.

2. Jesus is the Davidic king and the head of Israel. When you sing of David, the king, or the anointed one in the Psalms, think primarily of Jesus Christ. For one thing, Christ is the Greek word for “anointed one.” Psalm 2 is a classic example here - it refers to God's anointed king in Zion, and this is applied to Jesus Christ several times in the New Testament (e.g. Acts 4:23-31). And Jesus, as king, embodies and represents His people and takes up their songs on His lips. Psalm 69, for example, does not talk about the Christ explicitly, but in the New Testament it is applied to Jesus as one who embodied and represented His people (Rom. 15:3, John 2:17, Acts 1:20). So there are various ways the Psalms can be fulfilled in Christ, and sometimes they can apply to him and to us to the extent that we are united with Christ (e.g. his suffering and exaltation is related to our suffering and exaltation).

3. The church of Jesus Christ is the people of God, His dwelling place. So when you sing of Israel, Zion, city of God, temple, take these as references to the church of Jesus Christ. The "us" in the Psalms refers to us who are in covenant with God through Christ. This is a point made several times in the New Testament: those in Christ are the offspring and heirs of Abraham (Gal. 3:29), apostate Jews were taken out of Israel and believing Gentiles are grafted into it (Rom. 11), the church is the temple and dwelling place of God (1 Cor. 3:16-17, 2 Cor. 6:16, Eph. 2:19-22). The New Testament applies the "us" of the Psalms to the church (Rom. 8:36).

4. These are songs for God's people. They were collected in the book of Psalms for their use by God's people, to give expression to shared desires and to shape a common identity. So sing them as a Christian. If you cannot relate to things said in them personally, you can still sing them by identifying with Christ and His body. Perhaps you don't feel like your suffering is like that described in Psalm 22, but you identify with Christ who did suffer in that way, and with the church who suffers in that way as a body and in some of its individual members.

5. Related to this, conflict in the Psalms is covenantal not personal. As a consequences of the other principles above, the enemies referred to in the Psalms are the enemies of Christ and His church. The Psalms are not expressions of personal vengeance and bitterness, but of covenant loyalty. When we sing them, we side with Christ and His church against their enemies and with God's justice against wickedness and tyranny. Just as with God’s proclamations of judgement (e.g. Jonah 3), there is an implicit understanding that these curses are conditioned on a lack of repentance (a condition made explicit in Psalm 7:12). If these enemies repent and turn to Christ, then God’s wrath is satisfied in His Son and the person is forgiven. We desire both that God’s justice be established and that all peoples be saved, and we find both desires expressed in the Psalms (see the desire for the salvation of the nations in Psalm 67).

So with these in mind, sing the Psalms with your voices and with the heart. Sing them so that they begin to dwell within you, shaping your desires and affections and the way you see this world. Sing them from day to day, as well as on the Lord's Day. Sing them on your own, and sing them with others - your family, friends, and church. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." (Colossians 3:16)