MEDITATION In todays twisted world of messages I have seen the concept of meditation become perverted and distorted. The ONLY thing the Bible teaches that we should meditate on is Gods Word. Not a topic, not a situation, not a philosophy, but Gods Word, and His word ONLY. There are currently other schools of thought being taught such as contemplative meditation or contemplative prayer that follows eastern philosophy. We must be very careful when throwing around the term meditation. If you follow a close word study of the concept of meditation you will likely see it is much different than our current concept. In many scriptures you see it connected with the mouth leading to the conclusion that Biblical meditation involved speaking the word, and consuming or ‘chewing the Word’ (see below). Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate thereon day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success Most of the examples of meditation are in the Psalms, those musical poems of praise, punctuated frequently with Davids characteristic interjections: O Lord (about 190 times in Psalms), O God (about 100 times), Praise the Lord or Hallelujah (31 times), and bless the Lord (15 times). The words mouth, voice, and tongue are used in the Psalms 135 times collectively, a testimony to the fact that the psalmists interactions with God were often not a silent matter. Just as meditation is linked with the mouth in Joshua 1:8, mentioned above, it is often connected with the mouth or voice in the Psalms. Psalm 5:1-3 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer. Psalm 63:5,6 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night-watches This is the natural process whereby some animals, many of them domesticated, chew and chew and chew their food, then swallow, regurgitate, and chew some more. By this means, they obtain the maximum nourishment from what they eat, digesting it thoroughly. Not without significance, animals in the Old Testament were considered clean and suitable for food if they split the hoof and chewed the cud (Lev.11:3). By analogy, we could say that a person who chews the cud in relation to Gods word is made clean and fruitful by the word (John 15:3,7); just as Christs glorious church is cleansed by the washing of the water of the word (Eph 5:26). Conclusion: Meditation in the Biblical sense is the act of consuming a section over and over and chewing on it until you have extracted all of the nutrients and benefits contained in the passage(s), then speaking the revelation back to God and to men. It is a cycle of assimilation of God’s truth. We tend to want to read through vast sections of scripture, but glean very little benefit. Meditation on His Word requires close inspection and going over it again and again. Meditation leads directly to stability, fruitfulness, and happiness. We often speak of joy, but this Psalm speaks of happiness, which is different. Meditation also leads to spiritual prosperity. Now that is the true prosperity gospel. It is a well kept secret. Psalm 1 How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path of sinners, or join a group of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lords instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not survive the judgment, and sinners will not be in the community of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 07:27:07 +0000
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