Understanding Biblical Meditation -- A Study of Psalm 19

Of all the Bible references with the word "meditate" or "meditation", I think the 19th Psalm is the primary passage on biblical meditation. The author of this song is King David, the father of biblical meditation. The key verse is #14, which reads,

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer" ( Psalm 19:14).

Based on this psalm, let's develop 4 points about the discipline of biblical meditation: the arena of meditation; the audience of meditation; the aim of mediation; access through meditation.

1. The Arena of Meditation: Worship is the arena of meditation. You cannot meditate until your mind enters the sphere of worship, where you begin to focus on spiritual things.

As David entered into worship, he set his mind to meditate on three important areas or angles of his life.

(a) Creation (vv. 1-6). David could not meditate on creation without thinking about the Creator. When he raised his head and looked at the sky, he saw the handiwork, the signature of Elohim, the God of creation. The heavens reminded him of God's glory. With his eyes up there, David zoomed in on the morning sun rising, comparing it to a bridegroom marching in splendor and majesty towards his bride on wedding day.

=> Meditation will help you "see" the environment and the beauty of God's creation. Which is your favorite part of creation? For David, it was sunrise. For you it might be sunset, the moon, a bloom of flowers, trees, a butterfly, the beach, a rainbow. Why not focus on that, see what thoughts come to your mind, then speak those thoughts as your praise to the Creator. That's meditation.

(b) Next, David meditates on God's Word (vv. 7-11). He values the Law of God above "gold", which represents all earthly possessions. He says God's word, like food, tastes sweeter to him than "honey", which symbolizes all the pleasures of life.

=> What is your favorite portion of Scripture? Is it the 23rd Psalm? Is it John 3:16? Focus on the key words and phrases of that text from the Bible. Now mentally begin to squeeze some meaning from the text. Speak the thoughts that come to you. That's meditation.

(c) Finally, David meditates on himself, his character. He takes personal inventory of himself. He does some self-reflection, self-examination (vv. 12-13). The word of God serves as a mirror that shows David his real self, not the King David that his subjects know, but David as he truly is, naked in God's sight. David sees some good in himself, just as a mirror will show you what's right about you. But the mirror of the Torah (God's Law) also reveals David's flaws and faults. And when David confronts his not-so-great parts, he realizes his need for soul cleansing that God alone can provide. So he asks God to deal with his little sins in order to protect him from the big sins, the "great transgression".

=> What image of yourself has God's word shown you? Where in your character are you making progress? Where are you more Christlike? Praise God for that. Where do you need some cleanup? Ask God to purify your character. Such a spiritual cleansing is part of meditation.

2. The Audience of Meditation: God is the main audience of meditation. We know that from David's words, "O LORD (Yahweh)". This means the most important reason and purpose for meditation is to connect with God and to commune with God. Yahweh is the One David is talking to and thinking about as he meditates.

When you meditate, you should speak directly to God, not to yourself. Speak to God in the second person, "You". Think on God, not on yourself and your problems. Meditation is not being absorbed with self and your concerns and interest. To meditate is to preoccupy your mind the Almighty and to speak your thoughts as you muse on God.

3. The Aim of Meditation: David says, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart". What is a person trying to achieve when s/he meditates? To bring about a union of mouth and mind. To unify tongue and thoughts. To join your words to your thoughts and emotions. To get your mouth and heart to sing from the same sheet of music. In the Bible, "heart" and "mind" are closely linked. According to Scripture, you think in your heart (See Proverbs 23:7; Matthew 9:4). Meditation reaches its highest form when and where the wholesome words of your mouth kiss the pure thoughts and emotions of your heart. In meditation you aim to purify your heart, your thoughts and emotions, which in turn will purify your words. This will help to develop you into a better, brighter character.

When you meditate, your primary desire is for God to be pleased with your speaking, thinking, and feeling: "be acceptable in Your sight". That word "acceptable" is the word for "pleasure". That was David's desire: "God, I want the words I say, the thoughts I think, and the emotions I feel to please You. I want You to look upon my words, thoughts and emotions, and nod. It is important to me that You are pleased with what I say, what I think, and how I feel."

4. Access through Meditation: David's words are, "O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer!" Meditation is a medium, a means to an end, a path to a destination. Through meditation, you can access divine resources, God's supplies for your life. That's why it is crucial for you to first connect with the Divine. David mentions two resources you can access through meditation: strength and redemption.

One of the chief goals of meditation is to receive strength from God. The word translated "strength" here is the word for "rock". David is calling God his Rock, his foundation, the constant of his life.

Strength from God or divine empowerment is one of the greatest benefits of meditation. To meditate is to acknowledge and admit that you don't rely on yourself or other people for inner strength. When you meditate you are telling yourself, "I need a power greater and higher than myself to be the best and most I can be as a person. My strength runs out, and I need my strength renewed regularly." You tap into God's unlimited strength through meditation. (For God's ability to give you new strength, read Psalm 46:1; Proverbs 18:10; Isaiah 40:29-31.)

David addresses Yahweh as "my redeemer". The meditator regards Yahweh as the Redeemer. The word "redeem" basically means to "buy back". In our day, it roughly corresponds to "recoup, recover, make up for losses".

For example, due to the steep drops in the stock market, some retirees have lost millions of dollars in the retirement accounts. If the market was to reverse course, and those retirees were to recoup all of those losses, we would say the retirees or their accounts have been redeemed.

In this Psalm, David is saying, God has the ability to recoup or buy back what we have lost. He can make up for our losses. He can reverse the trend. How? When we look to God rather than rely on ourselves, the Almighty can empower us to achieve in 5 months what might have taken us 5 years to recover. When we team up with God, we can double up and recover much more quickly. God is the Redeemer, the Maker Upper.

Meditation is one powerful way to tap into this divine power to redeem, recoup, recover, restore whatever you may have lost.

But it gets even better. Not only can Yahweh redeem our losses, He can redeem us! David says, "my Redeemer". He is not just the Redeemer of my time, my relationships, the resources I may have lost. He is "MY Redeemer". He redeems ME. God has the power to buy me back when I am lost, when I have lost it, when I have lost myself, whenever I have sold myself out. Meditation is the spiritual currency that makes such a transaction possible.

How useful, how powerful meditation can be! It is God's prescription for your sanity, a sound mind. Meditation is medication. Try it today.