As early as the 16th century, it’s been known that “birds of a feather flock together.” What’s good for the goose is good for the human (or something like that). People of the same stripe typically associate or congregate together. After all, no one likes being the “black sheep” in a crowd. We seek out comfort, safety, and security by having our interests affirmed by those who share them. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, except when our interests are not in alignment with God’s. Consider Psalm 1:
Psalm 1
1 Blessed are those
who do not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,2 but who delight in the law of the LORD
and meditate on his law day and night.3 They are like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
To delight in and meditate on “the law of the Lord” is to be in the Lord’s company. The result is life-yielding, fruit-bearing prosperity.
In a previous post I offered some benefits to memorization of God’s Word. Here I offer some benefits from meditation upon God’s Word.
Biblically, meditation is the prayerful, willful, and persistent focus upon the works of God or the Word of God that results in a sense of wonder and amazement at the movement of God. Benefits of meditation include:
- It moves the soul to gain spiritual insight into the wonders of God’s glory. Meditation gives us “spiritual insight that moves the mind and soul from admiration to adoration of God’s excellencies. Persons who are spiritually enlightened . . . [do] not merely rationally believe that God is glorious, but [have] a sense of the gloriousness of God. There is not only a rational belief that God is holy, and that holiness is a good thing, but there is a sense of the loveliness of God’s holiness” (The Works of Jonathan Edwards, (Vol. II, Serm. I, p. 14). Spiritual insight is having a profound sense of God’s perfections and beauty. This Spirited illumination does not stop at the corridor of the mind but moves deep into the caverns of the soul where authentic spiritual worship takes place. “My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night” (Ps. 63:5-6).
- Meditation gives us an objective basis for truth. When meditatively praying before his crucifixion, Jesus asks “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (Jn. 17:17). Paul exhorts Timothy to rightly handle the “word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15) and the Psalmist exclaims “the sum of your word is truth” (Ps. 119:160).
- Meditation helps us recall God’s activity in creation and redemption. “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands” (Ps. 143:5). Or again, Ps. 77:12, “I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.”
- Meditation seeks to align our hearts with God’s heart. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight” (Ps. 19:14; also 104:34).
- Meditation keeps us focused on God rather than our defense during times of trouble. Jesus instructed his disciples not to spend undue time on their response to persecution (Lk. 21:14; see also, Ps. 119:23).
- Meditation on God’s Word, more than any other discipline, accommodates obedient living. True success (not always materially, but certainly spiritually and morally) is promised to those whose thoughts are governed by God’s thoughts. Joshua 1:8 explicitly affirms a direct connection between meditation and prosperity. The goal of meditation is obedience and the result of obedience is blessing (see especially Jn. 13:17). If you’re not experiencing spiritual blessings, then look at the obedient factor in your life. If you’re failing in obedience, then take a serious look at your thought life!