Biblical Meditation in the Bible

Biblical meditation is profoundly different from the emptying of the mind taught in many traditions; it is the filling of the mind with the Word and works of God. To meditate, in Scripture, is to ponder, mutter, and dwell deeply on God's truth until it shapes the heart and conduct. The foundational command comes in Joshua 1:8: "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein." Here meditation is tied directly to obedience and success in God's eyes. The Psalms make meditation the mark of the blessed life. Psalm 1:2 describes the godly person whose "delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night," comparing them to a fruitful, well-watered tree. This is not occasional but habitual, even nocturnal: "when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches" (Psalm 63:6). The psalmist resolves in Psalm 119:15, "I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways," making God's commands the constant object of his thought. Meditation also reaches back to remember God's past faithfulness. Psalm 143:5 says, "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands." And it aims at transformed speech and inner life, as Psalm 19:14 prays, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD." The New Testament continues this discipline. Philippians 4:8 urges believers to "think on" whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. Biblical meditation, then, is the prayerful, repeated turning of the mind toward God and His Word, the path to delight, stability, obedience, and a heart pleasing to the Lord.