Dr. Joel Beeke goes into great detail explaining and illustrating biblical meditation in the following 51 minute sermon. He spent a summer reading 41 Puritan books on the topic of meditation; I have to say that his sermon is the most thorough explanation I have heard on the topic.
The last third of the sermon is rather technical and is worthy of noting if you plan to learn how to meditate biblically. I will provide highlights after the video.
The Puritans spoke of two types of meditation: occasional and deliberate. Occasional can be done any time of day; for example, about God’s creation; as King David did in Psalm 8. Deliberate meditation should be based upon your daily study of God’s word: choose a topic from your reading and think about it as described below.
THE PROCESS OF MEDITATION:
- memorize the text
- allow it to stimulate your faith; fix your thoughts on the subject
- think about it in terms of its scriptural meaning; regarding providence; regarding how it impacts your own conscience
- an example topic is sin: define it in your own words (in your journal?)
- consider original sin; the effects of it in the world and in your own life
- note examples of sin
- note examples of God’s grace and mercy, that is, God’s goodness that is not of sin
- note metaphors; or descriptive phrases from scripture that describe sin, such as: Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
- you could continue to consider this topic as you read through the Bible, noting occurrences of sin as you read, and daily considering the ramifications of that sin in your life and the world, for example
- note biblical terms used to describe sin
- what sermons have you heard on sin
- let your affections be stirred by your meditation and pray / praise God in the process
- preach to yourself, as in Psalm 42:6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar…Psalm 42:11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
- formulate a personal resolution based on your meditation: note it; consider the steps to carrying it out; praise and thank God…
- end your time with singing of Psalms or hymns related to the topic, as songs stick in the mind better than prose
Dr. Beeke noted that the four most considered topics of meditation were: heaven, hell, death and judgment. Then came sin, Christ, promises of God and the attributes of God.
BENEFITS OF MEDITATION:
- helps in focusing on the triune God: in enjoying Him spiritually, practically, doctrinally, and aesthetically
- meditation will increase your knowledge of sacred truth, it takes the veil off it
- it is the nurse of wisdom
- enlarges one’s faith and affections
- fosters repentance
- develops memory
- fosters the cultivation of discipline
- it improves reading and comprehension; understanding; discernment
- helps one to see the heinousness of sin more clearly
- enhances one’s ability to see sinful thoughts
- enables one to persevere in faith
- provides relief from affliction
- glorifies God
OBSTACLES TO MEDITATION:
- excuse making: such as saying you are unfit or unable to do it; do not excuse you
- begin doing it a moment or two a day and increase it as you learn
- pray to the Holy Spirit for help and guidance as you do when you begin your daily read of scripture
- I’m too busy: that excuse isn’t acceptable either. Too busy to do the greatest work of your life?
- Prayer and meditation are not an appendix to life; they are the core
- I have too many things to do, that I don’t want to give up: trim back your other activities to make time for prayer and meditation
Meditation will enable you go grow in grace and is worthy of doing.
For those who work long hours, spend time learning to meditate on the Lord’s Day, that is one reason He commands that we focus on Him and rest on Sundays.
In my words, I would guess that if you are not willing to learn to meditate on God’s word and on your relationship with Him, then you might begin by examining your own priorities in terms of eternity; and meditating upon the impact of such conduct upon your own soul.
I sat with two different people when they were on their deathbeds and neither of them even considered God, judgment, hell or heaven; I asked the second person questions about those topics to facilitate such a discussion, but he only scoffed.
That is the fruit of a life lived to self, wherein no time was spent on the things of God. I personally, do not want to end that way.
STUDY RECOMMENDATIONS:
See, Categories: Christian Music: there is an 8 minute video by C. J. Mahaney about cross-centered music; he notes that we should not listen to ourselves, but we should preach to ourselves…. Based on his affections during his discussion, I would say that he has meditated upon that topic long and hard. Near that post, are posts with very brief videos from Dr. John MacArthur “Worship in Spirit and Truth,” and “Emotions in Worship,” by Alistair Begg. All of these posts speak of the value of singing doctrinally-based music.
I have a couple of personal examples of meditation and what moved me to learn it (I didn’t even know that was what I was doing till a few years ago).
I read The Mystery of Providence, by John Flavel and he recommended learning to keep a providence journal. Since I had been in the habit of journaling, I wanted to learn to journal about God’s providences in my life. I must have struggled for a year or so to learn how to identify a providence from God. And I made many mistakes. But I eventually learned how to identify and write about God’s providences (those that I am permitted to see).
There is a post in this blog that defines God’s providence: see categories, John Calvin’s Institutes. The post has three, 38 minute videos. He defines providences therein such that one can begin to see them in his life. Thereafter, one needs to meditate about God’s reasons for sending a particular providence; about how one reacts to it….
Another example: I spent 2-3 years listening to hundreds of sermons on the beatitudes. While I was striving to understand them, I began to look for evidence of God’s Spirit working poverty of spirit into my life. I have become better at seeing such things (providences). One very wonderful benefit of my having spent that time on the beatitudes is that when I slide into sin, I am moved to examine the situation in light of what God might be working in me. In addition to numerous other things (see, categories, John Owen for some posts on mortification of sin for other things to consider).
The point is, God works into all His children a sense of spiritual bankruptcy. That is, each time one falls/slides into sin, he has an opportunity to identify how he has been relying on self instead of Christ; what lies he has been believing instead of God’s promises (such as lots of things = blessings); how he has been lax about watching and praying; how and why Satan duped him this time; in what way he was relying on self instead of Christ’s Spirit….
That is, my learning to meditate on the ramifications of sin in light of poverty of spirit has been going on for 7 or 8 years presently. But I don’t meditate on other biblical doctrines like I do sin. So, this post has instructed me to broaden my focus.
One last benefit of my meditations on sin is that I have come to realize again and again that if one sweeps his sin under the carpet, then nothing is happening in his walk with God. Sin must be identified, owned, confessed and forsaken (as you read through the Bible, especially in the prophets, note the times God calls on an individual or a nation to admit and repent of sin, there are many such examples, see last entry below).
If one denies his sin, then he can do none of those things. That is why I am always writing about it. The necessity of dealing biblically with sin is foundational to the Christian walk, but it seems that many people have not started at the beginning, as the pilgrim Christian did in Pilgrim’s Progress. Bunyan pointed out all the errors people make in their pilgrimage, that is the first one, climbing over the wall, not starting at the beginning, but at some advanced place…may you not make that fatal error!
Admonishment to confess sin: confess: Lev_5:5, Lev_26:40; Jos_7:19; Job_33:27-28; Psa_32:5; Pro_28:13; 1Jn_1:8-10; confess: Num_5:7; Deu_4:29-31, Deu_30:1-3; Jos_7:19; 1Ki_8:33-36, 1Ki_8:47; Neh_9:2-5; Job_33:27-28; Psa_32:5; Pro_28:13; Jer_31:18-20; Eze_36:31; Dan_9:3-20; Hos_5:15, Hos_6:1-2; Luk_15:18-19; 1Jn_1:8-10
Hos 5:15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
Psa 32:3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.
Psa 32:4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
Psa 32:5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.