Episode Transcript
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Abba, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Abba, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Psalm 1:1–3 (ESV)
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
CONSIDER THIS
Now that we have a new word for this new year, what shall we do with it? How shall we Bible? We will handle this word as the word instructs us. If you've been with the Wake-Up Call for any length of time you know the 5 Rs: Read. Ruminate. Rememberize. Research. Rehearse. We will work through them this week.
Because "Read" is fairly straightforward, we will begin with "Ruminate." Per usual, our text will guide us.
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
Meditation is definitely in vogue these days. All the cool kids are doing it; however, before we go any further we need to establish the difference between the Bible's idea of meditation and the kind of meditation getting so much attention currently. While meditation is common to many religious traditions, there is a clear distinction with biblical meditation. Most common conceptions of meditation involve the attempt to empty one's mind of all things distracting and enter into a state of relaxation or higher consciousness. Meditation, in the biblical sense, is actually just the opposite. It means to fill one's consciousness with the Word of God; to relish and even devour it with deep delight.
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
The Hebrew term behind the English term meditate in Psalm 1 offers the word picture of a lion hovering over the carcass of an animal it has caught with a growling delight over its deliciousness. I love to watch our little dog with a meaty bone. Lucy (short for Lucinda or Lucifer, depending on the day) loves to meditate. First, she takes the bone off to a quiet and relatively private place where she can meditate without distraction. After a good hour of getting every shred of anything resembling meat off the bone, she will take it out in the yard where she hides it for later. Later she will retrieve the bone, bring it back into the house, and continue gnawing on the bone until she breaks into the marrow. This is interspersed with interludes in which she will hide the bone again so she can re-approach it later. Little by little, the bone disappears until it has become the dog. Notice how this is not a picture of discipline or duty. The word is delight.
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
Take the example, inserting yourself as Lucy and the Word of God as the bone, and we have a brilliant image of biblical meditation. Let's take "ruminate" a step further. Cows ruminate. They have four different stomachs that involve a digestive process in which they swallow food, digest it a bit, and then regurgitate it back into their mouth in the form of a cud that they then chew on more, extracting more goodness. They ruminate. I love this example because of the ongoing processing nature of it. It is happening all the time and over the course of a long period of time. Cows are always grazing, always digesting, and, consequently, always ruminating. In this light, note the precise description given in the text for when we meditate or ruminate.
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
It can't be compartmentalized into a tidy little practice we tuck between coffee and breakfast. The psalmist reveals the time for meditation as "day and night." When is that? Correct! All the time! Finally, notice what happens in verse 3: delighting in the Word of God leads to the deepest desire of our hearts in its outcome.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
THE PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Lord Jesus—Word of God from before the beginning—our Great Teacher,
I confess, so often working with your word can feel like a duty and a discipline. Would you lead me to the place of delight? I confess my tendency to put my walk with you into compartments. Would you lead me into the seamless way of abiding in your life day and night—all the time? Like the tree, Jesus; make me like the tree.
Lord, it will be for your glory, for others' gain, and for our good.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen!
