Morning By Morning #286

I meditate on your precepts.

Psalm 119:15

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

There are times when solitude is better than fellowship and when silence is wiser than speech. We would be better Christians if we spent more time alone, waiting on God and finding spiritual strength for service to Him by meditating on His Word. We should ponder the things of God because only then will we get real nutrition from them.

Truth is like a cluster of grapes on a vine: if you want wine from it, you must bruise and crush the grapes, pressing and squeezing them many times. Your feet must come joyfully down on the clusters or else the juice will not flow, and you must completely tread the grapes or much of the precious juice will be wasted. In like manner, we must tread the clusters of God’s truth through meditation if we desire to glean the wine of comfort from them.

Simply taking food into our mouths does not nourish our bodies, for it is the full process of digestion that supplies nutrients to muscles, nerves, sinews, and bones. And it is through spiritual “digestion” that outward food is assimilated into our inner life. Our souls are not nourished merely by listening for a while to this, then to that, and later to another portion of divine truth. Hearing, reading, examining, and learning all require inward digestion to complete their usefulness, and that inner digesting of the truth takes place primarily by meditating on it.

Why is it that some Christians make such slow progress in their spiritual life in spite of hearing many sermons? It is because they neglect time alone in their prayer closet meditating on God’s Word. They love bread but are not willing to grind the wheat; they would like some corn but are unwilling to go into the field to gather it; the fruit hangs low on the tree, but they will not pluck it; and the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop down to drink.

O Lord, deliver me from such foolishness. May this be my resolve this morning: “I will meditate on your precepts” (Ps. 119:78).

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

The Word of God uses the word meditate fourteen times, twelve of which are in the Psalms, with eight of those in Psalm 119 alone. We are told once to meditate on God’s “unfailing love” (Ps. 48:9), four times on His wonders or works, but a full seven times to meditate on His Word—mentioned as His law, precepts, decrees, statutes, and promises.

The psalmist prays, “Let me understand the teaching of your precepts” in Psalm 119:27, but goes on to say in verse 99: “I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.” Obviously, the answer to spiritual wisdom and understanding is tied to God’s Word. To truly work it into our lives, we must take time to read it, pray over it, and meditate upon it. And to be successful in God’s eyes, we must follow His command to Joshua: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Josh. 1:8).

Why not take a few minutes to read Psalm 119 this morning? As you read, ask the Lord to give you a deep love for His Word, such as the psalmist proclaims: “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long” (Ps. 119:97).