The Bridge Between Knowing and Doing

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Well, I don't know about you, but for me, there's so little time and so many books. I really love books I love to smell them, and I even love to read them. And I know many of you share my love of books. It's really shocking, though when you start thinking about the materials that are available to us today. I have on my computer right here on the stand a number of books I don't know exactly how many, but I know it's somewhere close to two thousand different books volumes that are just on this little hard disk sitting here in my computer. It amazes me that I carry around two thousand books in my briefcase.

The resources that we have as Christians today are truly amazing. In fact, even if you don't have that many books in your library or in your computer, you probably have sitting on your shelf at home more books than a Christian three hundred years ago saw in their entire lifetime. When I think about that, my mind goes back a few years to an exhibit that I saw at the Huntington Museum, I think I've mentioned it to you before really, was an amazing exhibit and one that's been life changing in some ways in terms of my thinking about various things. It was an exhibit about William Tyndale. Tyndale as you have heard is really the father of our English bible and Tyndale translated the New Testament and for that simple act he was imprisoned for sixteen months in the worst of conditions. And I still remember reading the letter that he hand wrote the king asking for just two simple things a blanket to which to endure the winter and a bible to accompany the candle that he already had.

As I thought about that, the fact that here was this man who was in prison for sixteen months, and after that sixteen months he was taken out and publicly strangled. And then his body was burned along with the New Testaments that he had translated all because he wanted to give Christians one simple resource. The New Testament in their own language, and yet we have so many resources at our disposal. But you know the problem that comes is that resources and for that matter even knowledge all that we know as a result of those resources does not result in doing, does it? There's where the rub comes. We don't translate all that we know into practice my question is why, why not, why aren't we doing those things? What is it that takes us from knowing the truth and all the resources that we've accumulated to doing it? Well, I think the scriptures identify the bridge between knowing and practicing.

I want you to turn with me to Joshua Chapter 1 and verse 8. Joshua at this time is no spring chicken; Moses has just died, Joshua's around ninety years of age. And now he who has served as kind of the second in command for forty years under Moses is going to take the responsibility for leading these two million Israelites two million plus into the promised land. A daunting assignment leading two million people is absolutely mind boggling. Two million people all of whom have a mind of their own, all of whom see you as sort of Moses' flunky. And so God appears to Joshua and He encourages him. He tells him in verse 6, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go."

And then we come to one of the most familiar verses in all of Scripture. But one I don't know that we've always plumbed the depths of, listen to what He says, "This book of the law." That's a reference probably to the first five books of the Old Testament, because that's all that Joshua had at that time. Moses wrote the Pentateuch those first five books shortly after the exodus and at some point during the wilderness wanderings, the experts and the scholars are disagreed on exactly when, but some time from the moment Israel left Egypt, and between that and Moses' death, Moses wrote the first five books, and so now Joshua's left with those books. That is what's at his disposal and God tells him this book of the law these five books "shall not depart from your mouth."

Now that's an interesting expression, it could be a reference to the law influencing Joshua's speech. In other words, you're to allow the law to influence how you speak. Or perhaps it could be a reference to teaching the law to others. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth in the sense that you're to be teaching other people. But probably, and most likely, this is a reference to an ancient practice. In the ancient world, people read out loud. Made for a lot of confusion at the local library, but that's how they did it. You remember even in Acts 8 when Phillip comes upon the Ethiopian eunuch, he heard him reading, and he said, 'do you understand what you're reading and he said, no, how can I accept some men show me?' Because it was the practice to read out loud, that's probably what this is a reference to. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth in the sense that you're to be reading it.

In fact, it's interesting if you go back to Deuteronomy, one of the laws laid down for Israel's leaders for Israel's kings that would come someday is the fact that they were to make a handwritten copy in their own hand of the Law of God, and they were to read it faithfully day after day. That's what this is a reference to. Joshua, as you take control of the nation as you lead, the people be in God's law be reading God's law. It shall not depart from your mouth and then notice he goes on. "But you shall meditate on it day and night, so that (for this purpose for this reason, this is the intent) you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it." He says I want you to read it, and the end result of your reading it, is that you're going to do all that you discover there. But did you see the bridge between knowing and doing the bridge between reading and practicing? Its meditation this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth. There's the reading, the accumulating of information, the accumulating of knowledge from God's word. So that you may be careful to do it. There's the practice and in between is the meditation you shall meditate on it, day and night. The bridge between knowing and doing is biblical meditation. That's the key.

Now when I say the word meditation, probably the first thing that comes to your mind because of the culture that we live in is someone sitting with his legs crossed or perhaps wrapped around his head, depending on which school he happens to be from, chanting some mantra, like om. It's usually associated with the cults in the eastern religions. It's associated with Hinduism like that of my favorite personal, or I should say personal my favorite character that shows up on Larry King from time to time Depot Chopra. Now, when you think about meditation and you think about the fact that that's what comes to your mind I want you to think about it this way, that is not Biblical meditation. What is the difference between pagan meditation and biblical meditation? Pagan meditation is emptying your mind. You read any book on transcendental meditation or other things. It's the idea of empty your mind and chant a mantra to do that to accomplish that, and that will bring some sort of release and stress relief and all of the things that it's supposed to bring. Biblical meditation is not emptying your mind. Biblical meditation is filling your mind. It's thinking deeply about something as we will learn more later. Tonight I want to answer for you three basic questions. Why is meditation important? What exactly is meditation? And finally how do you do it?

So let's get started. Let's begin with the value of meditation or why is it important? Why is this skill of biblical meditation, so important? Well first of all, we see it here in Joshua 1:8. Notice, he says "this book of the law" these first five books of the Old Testament "shall not depart from your mouth" you're supposed to read them and you're to "meditate on it day and night, so that" for the intent that for the purpose that "you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success." Joshua 1:8 says meditation is a tool that helps us move from reading and studying to actually putting God's word into practice. And the result of that, according to Joshua 1:8, is spiritual prosperity.

You see that word the English words translated 'have success' literally it means to live wisely. That's what it means. It's not talking about financial success. It's not talking about prosperity in the sense most people think of it. He's saying, if you will read God's word, if you will meditate on it and then you do it, you will make your way prosperous and then you will act wisely. In other words, you will learn how to live in the day to day issues of life in a way that pleases God. That's the benefit. That's why it's important because if you will practice meditation. You will take the knowledge that you accumulate you will translate it into action and the result will be spiritual prosperity. You will learn how to act wisely. You will learn how to live before God daily in a way that pleases Him.

Psalm 1 defines that prosperity a little more. I want you to turn to Psalm 1. The book of Psalms is a wonderful book and it's given to us by God. I believe the divine purpose of Psalms is to give us and provide us with a divinely intended record and pattern of man expressing himself to God. In other words, we have recorded here a record of various men expressing their hearts to God, but it's more than merely a record, it's a pattern for us. You want to know how you should express yourself to God in various situations and circumstances. It's recorded right here in the book of Psalms. But when you come to Psalm 1, Psalm 1 is an introduction to the Psalms. It gives you the author's grid, the author's mindset. Basically it builds the foundation for the rest of the psalter and what we find in Psalm 1 is that there are two ways or two paths or two habits of living, two ways to live. The way of the righteous verses 1-3, and the way of the wicked verses 4-6, and their ends are dramatically different. Verse 6 says, "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." The Lord is intimately acquainted with the path of the righteous, but He will ultimately destroy the wicked and his way.

But I want you to notice verse 1 of Psalm 1. "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the council of the wicked." There are several words for bless in the Old Testament in the Hebrew Old Testament. This one is an interesting word. It's not the word that typically means for God to bless someone. In other words, it's not the word that speaks of God reaching down and pouring out his blessing on someone. This word actually describes a third party looking on to God and His relationship to someone else. A great translation of this Hebrew word would be 'oh to be envied.' That's what he means. This psalmist is looking at God and His righteous servant, and He's saying oh to be envied is the man.

Begins with three negatives that tell us what the righteous doesn't do. Notice first of all, he doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked. The word counsel simply means deliberations or advice. It refers to thinking. We accept counsel from the world in a variety of ways, and some of them are fine. For example, we accept the counsel of the world in terms of sometimes the clothes we wear. This morning I had on a tie. The reason I wore a tie is because the world has determined the world at large, has determined that that's appropriate for the setting that I was in this morning. And so that tie in wearing that tie I was accepting the counsel of the world, the advice the thinking of the world. And in some situations that's fine, but what he's saying here in verse 1 is that the man is to be envied who doesn't walk who doesn't make his pattern of living in the advice of the wicked. He doesn't accept the mindset of the world that's what he's saying.

Then he says, "nor stand in the path of sinners." The word path is simply a word for well-worn way. It originally referred to a rut cut by wagon wheels. And then it came to speak of habits of character because it's the path you take day after day after day, It's your way it's your well-worn rut of behavior, refers to habits and lifestyle. So when he says that, oh to be envied is the man the righteous man who doesn't accept the mindset of the wicked and he doesn't stand in the path of sinners, he means he doesn't adopt its habits and its lifestyle.

So he doesn't accept the mindset of the wicked. He doesn't follow the lifestyle and habits of the sinners of the wicked, and then it says, "nor sit in the seat of scoffers." The idea of seat has to do with associating with associating with scoffers. Now scoffers are very familiar if you've read any of Proverbs at all. The scoffers are one of the fools of Proverbs. It describes those who were farthest from repentance who openly ridicule and defiantly reject God and His laws. And he says, oh to be envied is the man who doesn't accept the mindset of the wicked who doesn't follow the lifestyle and habits of behavior of sinners, and he doesn't associate with those who ridicule holy things and God Himself.

That's what he doesn't do, but I want you to notice verse 2, he completes his description of the righteous with what the righteous actually do. He turns to the positive, and he reduces the entire life of the righteous to our response to scripture. Let's stop and think about that a moment if you were going to describe what righteous behavior is, if you had been given the assignment to sit down and write Psalm 1, the grid with which everyone would interpret the psalms, and you were going to determine how to describe a righteous person in terms of what he doesn't do, you may have chosen the things that are in verse 1. But I doubt given that assignment you would have chosen what the righteous does to describe him in the way that he's described in verse 2, because it has to do with his response to scripture. The writer of the psalm says you want to know a righteous man? It all has to do with how he responds to this word.

Listen to what he says, one attitude and one activity. Notice the attitude verse 2, "But his delight is in the law of the Lord." The word delight literally means to take pleasure in ten times in the Old Testament is translated desire. He longs for he desires he takes pleasure in the law of the Lord. That's a reference to all of scripture. You want to recognize a righteous person? It's somebody who enjoys who delights in the scripture.

But notice his action his activity. Not only does he have this attitude toward scripture of delight and desire. But he goes beyond merely desire and delight. He actually does something the end of verse 2, "and in His law he meditates day and night." The psalm is content to develop this one theme about the righteous. It is that he responds to scripture by desiring it by delighting in it, and that delight and desire translates into meditation. Imagine that. If that was the criteria and it is for determining a righteous person, could you be convicted for being a righteous person? Do you desire and delight in the word of God and do you meditate in it day and night? The call to think deeply what I want you to see in this verse as he's describing the righteous is that the call to think deeply about God's revealed word to meditate is not merely for the pastor or those locked away in some monastery. But it is foundational to every Christian's spiritual health and growth.

Now notice verse 3. Here's an illustration. This is what this person looks like we found out in verse 1 what he doesn't do. We found out in verse 2 what he does. Now in verse 3, we find out what it looks what he looks like. He's like a tree that has been planted firmly planted. Literally in the original language transplanted, he's like a tree that has been transplanted by canals of water. You don't have this problem here in Texas; this verse means a lot in California. It's easy to understand. In California the land will grow what you plant if you water it. But there is no water. And so the only way to get water from the mountains down to southern California is by an aqueduct. It's by a way to express the water down to southern California and then from there it spreads out a variety of ways and the farmers will literally cut canals through their fields. To allow the pumps to pump the water out and into the sprinkling system which sprinkles the fields. The image here is one of those irrigation canals. The righteous person is like a tree that has been taken out of the desert where it might wither and die, and it's been transplanted. He's been transplanted by an irrigation canal, a source of water. That speaks of stability. Notice also it says that he would be like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, fruitfulness. In scripture when you come across a person bearing fruit, it's one of three things. It's either character qualities that he manifests. It's righteous deeds that he does. Or it's others, whom he draws to Christ.

It may be that all three are in view here you'll be like a tree that bears fruit. Not only is he stable, but he's fruitful. Notice "his leaf does not wither." What does that mean? Well, it's interesting if you look at the parallel passage and there is one to this. Turn to Jeremiah, holds your finger here, but turn to Jeremiah chapter 17, and notice verse 8, let's start at verse 7. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream. He will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in the year of drought." There's the picture. Its leaf doesn't wither what's he saying? He's saying that you'll be unaffected by drought. If you're a righteous person, it speaks of the fact that you'll continue to thrive. You will persevere. Trials and difficulties won't snuff out your life. Its leaf doesn't wither.

And then he says finally Psalm 1 and verse 3, "and in whatever he does, he prospers." He turns from the analogy of a tree, and he returns to the righteous man and he says whatever he does he'll prosper. It's speaking of spiritual prosperity. Do you want to be spiritually prosperous? Do you want to have spiritual strength and stability? Do you want to have consistent fruitfulness? Do you want to be able to weather life's difficulties and problems and persevere in faith? That is what meditation promises. That is the product of that righteous attitude toward scripture of delight and desire, and that righteous activity of meditating in it day and night. That's what meditation promises. And if that doesn't get your interest for the rest of what we're going to talk about tonight, then nothing will.

You may be convinced that it's important, but before you can effectively meditate, you have to understand what it is. What is meditation? What exactly is this skill that promises so much spiritual prosperity stability fruitfulness? Well I want us to examine three biblical words. Three Hebrew words for the skill, the primary Hebrew words, and I also want us to look at the primary results that come from meditation and when we put together those Hebrew words and the results of it we'll be able to craft a definition. So let's look first at the primary Hebrew words. I want you to turn to Psalm 143 verse 5. The reason I'm going to give you this verse is because all three of our Hebrew words occur in this verse. In the future, if you want to research these words, you want to follow them in your concordances and so forth you can come here and track them from here. Verse 5 of Psalm 143, "I remember" there's our first word "the days of old; I meditate" there's our second word "on all Your doings; I muse" there's our third word "on the work of Your hands." Those three Hebrew words that are translated in this verse remember, meditate and muse are the three primary Hebrew words for meditation. Let's look at them together.

The first one is remember. This usually doesn't refer to suddenly recalling something to mind like we use it in English. But it means to deliberately reminisce to choose to think about something it implies choosing what you think about. It's the difference in our English use of the word remember when you say I remember where I put my car keys. What you mean by that is it suddenly occurred to me where I put my car keys; it just sort of popped into my mind. Compare that with another use of the English word remember. If you're sitting with some friends after supper, and you're enjoying some coffee and dessert, and one of you says remember the wonderful time we had last year on vacation. It's not that you're suddenly remembering something. Instead, you're saying let's choose to think together and to reminisce about the time that we enjoy together. That's what the Hebrew word implies. That's the basic meaning of the Hebrew word. It's that use of the English word remember that has the concept of deliberately choosing to reminisce.

The second word is meditate. This Hebrew word can mean to mutter to whisper or to talk. In fact, in some lexicons you'll find it translated to mutter. As if that was the primary meaning, but it often means to reflect or to think it describes a kind of internal discussion. This kind of careful thinking may have originally been accompanied by a low murmur, as the person either read through the scripture aloud quietly or sort of spoke to himself. You know you've probably seen someone you don't want to do this because people think bad things about you, but you've probably seen someone deep in thought and their lips are barely moving as they're sort of thinking to themselves and they're arguing with themselves. That's what this word refers to in its most basic sense; it refers to what happens on the inside, not to the actual moving of your lips or muttering that's not the important point, in fact, turn to Psalm 49. This word is used there. And its use makes it a little clearer what it means Psalm 49 verse 3. "My mouth will speak wisdom and the meditation of my heart will be understanding." In Hebrew, the word heart speaks of the totality of a man's inner and immaterial nature. All that you are the real you he says. My meditation the inward part of me will be understanding. So obviously the word here isn't speaking of muttering or talking. In fact, it's contrasted with my mouth speaking. Instead of my mouth speaking, it's what's going on inside, so the emphasis in this word is on the internal discussion that's kind of going on. You ever have one of those internal discussions with yourself? That's what this word is picturing.

The third word is muse. This word is usually translated talk or meditate. It means to go over a matter in your mind. It can be expressed out loud, for example, in Psalm 69 verse 12 others are talking and this word is used. It can refer to talking to yourself again. Or it can refer to only talking in your mind. It's used that way in Psalm 119 a number of times and it's translated meditate. For example, Psalm 119 verse 15, 119:23, verse 27, verse 48, verse 78, verse 148. All of those occurrences in Psalm 119, this word is translated meditate. So let's put these three words together. Meditation involves a determined choice to recall something to mind, an internal discussion and deep reflection.

But what exactly is all the concentrated thinking trying to accomplish? Well let me take you to the primary results that meditation produces because as we look at the results and we look at these Hebrew words, I think we'll be able to put together a definition of meditation. So let's look at the results. What exactly does all this thinking this remembering meditating musing what does it produce? Turn to Psalm 119 verse 99. Some of you students have this as your life's verse. "I have more insight than all my teachers." The word insight is an interesting word. It means prudence, shrewdness. It refers to someone who knows the ropes. In fact, in Proverbs it's translated shrewd. Somebody who really understands life in the way it works. It's not referring to the gathering of data, but to the ability to use the knowledge that you have accumulated. You can see a use of it like that in Proverbs 22 verse 3. It's somebody who really understands somebody who has keen insight into the way things really are. The psalmist says, "I have more insight than all my teachers" more shrewdness more ability to see the reality than all of my teachers.

You probably remember people in your high school or college classes who thought this was their life's verse, and were always asking questions intended to trick or trip the professor. Now did the psalmist read or study more than his teachers? Did he have more experience than his teachers? Is that why he had more insight? No, look at the second half of the verse. Because "I have more insight than all my teachers, because your testimonies are my meditation." The first result of meditation is insight, a true spiritual apprehension of truth, not merely an accumulation of information. How does meditation bring that kind of insight? How does it happen? You sit and you meditate on scripture and you get this keen insight into the truth. What happens? Well it's what theologians call illumination. It's when the Holy Spirit turns on the light. You remember Psalm 119 verse 18 when the psalmist prays "open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from your law." He's talking about spiritual eyes, open my spiritual understanding to get it.

Paul prays the same thing to the Ephesians as I've referred you to on a number of occasions Ephesians 1:18. "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened." I've used the stained glass illustration. Let me use a different one. You remember when you first got a television some of you years and years ago and. There was no cable there was no satellite, I've mentioned the ears on the back that you sort of rotated, but the picture was not that clear. It's not that what was happening in the studio or wherever that signal was being transmitted from wasn't clear that was clear, but the signal itself wasn't clear. Imagine if in one heartbeat you could switch a switch and you would turn from that early signal that you received on television to high definition television over satellite. Imagine the stark contrast the same images would be there. You would understand basically what was going on in either format, but the difference is the richness of color and the clarity of what you're watching. That's the difference between reading and comprehending the scripture without illumination, and when the Holy Spirit turns the light on, it's the difference between that early rough hard to see and understand signal versus the high definition picture that you would pick up today. That's illumination. That's what the Spirit does. He enables us to see it in the highest of clarity and definition. We grasp the depth and the richness of what the Spirit is saying. That happens in meditation.

Now one last aspect of meditation before we actually define it, one other result that comes from meditation and that is application. Notice Joshua 1:8 again. God says to Joshua, "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth." You're supposed to read it, and you'll "meditate on it day and night, so that (for the purpose that this meditation will result in you're being) careful to do according to all that is written therein." In other words, one of the results that meditation produces is application of the truth, actually doing what you know.

Psalm 1 makes that same point, but in a unique way you see the word meditate in Psalm 1:2, that same word translated meditate, the same Hebrew word occurs in Psalm 2 verse 1. Do you see it? "Why are the nations in an uproar and the people's devising a vain thing?" The Hebrew word for meditate is the word that's translated devising. It means to create a plan to carry something out. That's what meditation does. That's what it produces. That's what God told Joshua in Joshua 1:8, meditation will draw you toward a plan for carrying out what you learn. That's one of the results of true biblical meditation. True meditation is done both for the purpose of and results in the application of the truth to life. That's what meditation is. It's taking what you know what you have learned from the scripture and translating it into application into action.

So, with those things understood, I think we can define meditation. Let me give you a definition. Basically, meditation is this deliberately choosing to think deeply about something in order to better understand it and to plan how to do it. Deliberately choosing there's that concept of the Hebrew word to think deeply that describes the internal discussion that the word describes. About something and we'll find out what in a moment in order to better understand it, there's the insight we're searching in meditation for insight for deeper understanding, for illumination and to plan how to do it, there's the application. There's the attempt to take the truth of God and translate it into a plan into action.

I don't know about you, but I enjoy a good hot cup of tea on a cold morning. There are very few civilized people left in the world, most people drink coffee. But I want you to imagine for a moment a little illustration of meditation. Imagine yourself to be the hot water of this potential tea, and imagine the tea bag to be God's Word. When you read God's Word, it's like taking that tea bag and sticking it in the hot water and pulling it out. Do you want to drink it yet? Probably not. When you take God's word and you study it, it's like taking that tea bag and putting it back in the water and leaving it a little longer and pulling it out still not really where you want to drink it. Meditation is taking the tea bag and leaving it in the water, taking the word of God and letting it permeate your mind and your heart and your understanding. It's leaving it in to steep. When we meditate on Scripture, we talk to ourselves about it. We turn it over in our minds. We turn over its meaning and its implications and its application to our own lives.

By the way I should mention that we've studied primarily in the Old Testament so far this evening, but let me assure you that this concept of meditation is a New Testament concept as well. We'll get to Philippians 4:8, where we're told to think on certain kinds of things. There's some clear implications there, but let me give you a very clear one. Colossians chapter 3 verse 16. It's a fascinating passage. In fact, let's turn there briefly. Colossians chapter 3, keep your finger in Colossians 3, and turn back to Ephesians 5. I want to show you something. You remember the familiar verse, verse 18 of Ephesians 5, "Do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit." You want to know what it means to be filled with the Spirit. Watch what flows from being filled with the spirit, "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks…wives will be subject to their husbands, husbands love their wives." Verse 1 of chapter 6, "children obey their parents, and slaves" verse 5, "will be obedient to those who are your masters." Those are the products of being filled with the Spirit. Now turn to the parallel passage, Colossians 3, and I want you to see the same thing. Notice that verse 16 says you'll be singing with melodies in your heart and you'll be giving thanks to God and wives verse 18 will be subject to their husbands and husbands verse 19 will love their wives and children will obey their parents and father's won't exasperate their children. Verse 22, slaves will obey their masters. You see these are parallel passages. The only difference is how they begin. Ephesians 4:18 says "be filled with the Spirit" Colossians 3:16 says "let the word of Christ richly dwell within you." They mean the same thing to be filled with the Spirit is to allow the word of Christ to dwell richly within you. We're talking about biblical meditation to be filled with the Spirit means to allow the Holy Spirit to take the word of God and to permeate your entire being with it, and if that happens, then you'll do all those things that have been listed there in both of those passages. So the New Testament speaks of allowing the scripture to permeate our thinking.

What are supposed to be the objects of our meditation? What is it exactly we're supposed to think about? Well, let me just briefly give these to you. We're not going to take the time to look at them carefully, but, first of all, we're supposed to think about God's word. You can see that in Joshua 1:8 we've already seen it. He's to meditate the law of God. It's throughout the Psalms; including the psalm that we looked at we're to meditate in God's word day and night. And throughout Psalm 119, you see that recorded. That one we know, but it's interesting when you go through the Old Testament, there's also an emphasis on meditating on, thinking deeply about, choosing to remember and to really delve into God's works; specifically the work of creation and the work of providence, the fact that God orders our lives in His sovereign purpose. You see this in Psalm 143 verse 5 the psalm we looked at earlier. "I remember the days of old; I will meditate on all your doings." You see it in a number of other texts as well. Psalm 145 verse 5 "on your wonderful works" speaking of creation "I will meditate."

Also we're to meditate on God's character. Psalm 63 verse 6 says "I will meditate on you." Psalm 145 verse 5 says "on the glorious splendor of your majesty, I will meditate." We're to think about God's word. We're to think deeply. We're to purposefully choose to set time aside to think deeply about the works of God, and we're to choose to set time aside to think deeply about God's character; all that's true about Him.

So now we know why it's important. It promises all of those rich spiritual blessings that are illustrated in Psalm 1 verse 3. It's the spiritual prosperity of Joshua 1:8. That's why it's important, and now we know what it is. We've come up with a definition, but how exactly do we do it? How exactly do we proceed to meditate? Well first, and this is very important, first you need to discover what the text says. That involves reading and study. I'm paraphrasing Thomas Watson, he said, "Meditation without study is dangerous. But reading and study without meditation will always be fruitless." All you will do is accumulate, more knowledge.

Let me give you an example I'm going to walk you through some methods. I'm going to give you some very specific methods. They're not exhaustive, nor are they inspired. They're not original with me. I have adapted them from Donald Whitney's book Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life, but they're not original with him either. All he did was catalogue, a short list of what saints through the years have done. I want to take one verse and I want to sort of walk you through these methods very briefly in the time that we have remaining. Let's take Proverbs 15:1. You don't need to turn there. This is what it says. "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Let's take that text and let's practice some methods of biblical meditation.

The first method is to simply ask questions of the text. You're trying to turn this text around. You're trying to understand it. For example, you might ask yourself what's the scenario in Psalm 15:1? What is that describing? Well notice a gentle answer, so I'm responding to someone else, turns away wrath. This person who's talking to me is angry. So what's happened? Well apparently something has happened, and I've probably caused it, that has made someone else very angry. This angry person is now confronting me, and I have to choose how to respond. In every text, there are a variety of questions that you can ask whenever you read the scripture be a detective be asking yourself why does he use that word? What does that mean? What is the situation here? Why does this story in the gospels fit in where it fits? You're always asking questions of the text. You're querying the text. There's a great chapter in a brief chapter actually but very helpful in John Piper's book Brothers We Are Not Professionals, it's a book written to pastors, where he says this very thing that we're to query the text we're to ask questions of the text.

Secondly, make general observations about the texts. For example, if I look at Psalm 15:1, I can make and I did this beforehand, so let me just give them to you, I can make a number of observations about that verse. For example, number one what I say deeply affects others. I'm able to reach inside a person and either turn away or stir up their anger. Another observation I could make is that there is both good and bad communication. How I say what I say is important, you see the word gentle that has more to do with my manner than it does with my content. Particular words I choose can hurt others. You see harsh word, means a word that causes pain. I can choose words intentionally that will hurt other people.

Another observation I can make is that disagreements can be resolved. Anger can be turned away. And a final observation that I jotted down was disagreements improperly handled can escalate into settle conflict. Notice, stirs up has the idea of escalating conflict. So you make general observations about the text. Thirdly repeat it in different ways. For example, a gentle answer turns away wrath. A gentle answer turns away wrath, a gentle answer turns away wrath. A gentle answer turns away wrath. Now it's not a mindless repetition, that's not the point here. The idea is that it's like taking a jewel and slowly turning it, so you see another facet. You're focusing your attention on another word in the text to make it stand out, and you're thinking about that particular word that particular facet of this diamond text. And as you consider each of those words, you're forcing your mind to think about what does that mean? What does he mean gentle? What do you mean answer et cetera?

Fourthly, write it in your own words, take the text and write it in your own words. I did that let me read you my translation if you would of this proverb. A meek and gracious response to someone who is angry calms them, but responding in kind with anger and attacks will make them even madder. You see as you force yourself to rewrite the words of the text in your own words, you're forcing yourself to really understand what's there because you can't do it without really grappling with the meaning of the text. And I think in some ways, maybe the most helpful is to pray through the text, turn the text that you're meditating on into prayer, turn it to God. I find myself doing this often. In fact, the prayers, the pastoral prayers that I pray in the morning are simply taking the scripture and praying it to God, lifting those scriptures to God.

Let me give you an example of this text. I just wrote out a prayer as I prayed to the Lord as I thought about and meditated on this text Proverbs 15:1. Lord you've commanded me to love others as I love myself. But I confess that much too often my tongue becomes an instrument of pain, hurt and discouragement for my family, my friends and sometimes even people I don't know. Lord forgive me and help me to pursue Your way in how I speak to others. Help me to be gentle and gracious in what I say and how I say it. Give me the self-control Your Spirit brings to respond in love, even when someone is angry and strikes out at me. Let my gentle response bring peace and calm and ultimately resolution to all such conflicts. Lord don't let me give in to the flesh and strike out in anger, purposefully choosing words that maim and bring deep pain. Instead let me bring healing comfort and encouragement in what I say to others. I want most of all to be a peacemaker for then, according to our Lord, I will be both happy and be called a son of God. Take the text and turn it into prayer to the Lord.

And finally think through specific ways to apply these truths to your circumstances. For example, with this proverb start with your spouse or your roommate. When's the last time, you did something that made your spouse angry and they confronted you. I'm sure that it hasn't been recently, but just try to remember back to when that might have happened. How did you respond? How should you have responded according to this proverb? Are there specific words that you chose on that occasion that were intended to promote anger, to produce anger? You always, you never, you're just stupid, you're lazy. You see what you're doing, you're asking yourself are there specific applications of this text in my situation. Start with your spouse, move to your coworkers, move to the other venues of your life think through the application of the truth to your circumstances. That's meditation. And as you do that you will gain according to the verses we've looked at tonight you will gain insight. You will gain illumination. The Holy Spirit will turn on the light as you meditate as you force yourself through some of these practices you will begin to gain a grasp of the depth of the riches of the scripture that you're studying and you'll also learn how to apply it. You'll learn how to put it into action. Meditation will provide the bridge between what you know and actually putting it into practice.

Turn again, in closing, to Psalm 1. "How blessed is the man" oh to be envied is the man "who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But (his desire) his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. And he'll be like a tree transplanted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season its leaf does not wither, and in whatever he does, he prospers." What an amazing promise that comes from the biblical art of meditation.

Let me encourage you to do something this week. Whatever time you set aside for the reading of God's word. This week, I want you to commit to doing something, take at least a third of that time, up to a half of that time read, study, and then stop and force yourself to meditate. Force yourself to take what you have already read and studied and to practice these principles. And I can promise you that you will go deeper and your study will be richer and it will yield insight it's not yielded before, and it will yield the application of that truth to life. And that's what meditation will provide. Let's pray together.

Father thank You for the way Your word speaks to the issues of our lives. Lord, we thank You for the wonderful gift that You've given us in Your word. Thank You for the reminder tonight of this incredible gift, this art of biblical meditation, not emptying our minds but choosing to fill our minds, choosing to set aside time to think deeply about what You have revealed on its pages. Lord help us to be diligent in that, help us in a world that never thinks, in a world that's always distracted and always busy with something help us as Your people to set aside time on purpose to choose to think about Your word to think about its meaning, to think about its implications, to think about how to do it. And Father we pray that as we try to be diligent in this, that Your Spirit would give us insight and that Your Spirit would change us even as we strive toward change. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.