The Lord gave to Israel the following instructions: “Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” (Deut. 11:18–19; see also Deut. 6:7–9).
It is striking that these verses command Christian parents to talk, and therefore, meditate, upon God’s word at all times, to remind their children of God’s word during all the main parts of the day: “when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deut. 11:19; see also 6:7). These are most solemn instructions, and although the focus of these verses is the highly important work of Christian parents in the religious instruction of their children, these verses contain several clear implications for all believers, young and old.
Dear reader, think about your own life. Parents, what are the most common topics at Sunday dinner? Young people, what are the most common topics of your conversations with your family and friends? Sports? Work? Hobbies? Entertainment? Are we also regularly taking advantage of the word of God that we have received from the preaching, using it as an occasion to discuss, meditate, and edify and encourage one another in the Lord? Out of the abundance of a person’s heart, his or her mouth speaks (see also Luke 6:45).
But you may ask, “those verses are mainly addressed to the teaching of parents to their children. Certainly, you are not saying that I, as an individual Christian, should meditate and talk about God’s word all the time, are you? There is so much else to do and to talk about!” I am certainly not saying that we should do nothing but study and meditate on the Scriptures all day. We have our duties, our callings, our jobs, our studies, and the Lord delights in us when we fulfill them to his glory (Col. 3:23–24; see also Eccl. 9:10). We also can enjoy many healthy and innocent recreational activities, for the good of our bodies and minds. However, this does not contradict the fact that the Lord and his word should be our priority and that God’s word should dominate our lives as manifested in our conversations and personal meditations.
David says that man is to be blessed whose “delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Ps. 1:2). David was resolute to praise the Lord continually and at all times: “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Ps. 34:1). Paul instructs us as follows: “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil. 4:8). And what is there in the world that is more true, more honest, more just, more pure, more lovely, more good, and more virtuous than God’s own word as recorded in the Holy Scriptures (Ps. 12; Prov. 30:5; 2 Tim 3:16–17)?
Sometimes we are afraid to bring up God’s word in our social gatherings, perhaps fearing to appear unusual or to break an accepted pattern. But what a great encouragement we find, unsurprisingly, in the Scriptures! Whether it is a family member who sincerely asks us for the reason of our hope (“when thy son asketh thee…” Deut. 6:20) or a friend who (perhaps annoyed) asks us why we “always bring up the Bible,” we answer according to the great truth that motivates us: “We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand” (Deut. 6:21). Purely by grace, the Lord saved me from that great and terrible bondage of sin that I could have never defeated by myself! The Lord brought me into his kingdom of light! He imputed unto me the perfect righteousness of Christ! The Lord gave me his Holy Spirit who is always with me! How can I stop talking and witnessing of such immeasurable and eternal benefits! It is because of these (and many other) priceless spiritual blessings that we, by God’s grace alone, out of gratitude conduct our lives, our thoughts, our meditations, and our conversations so that we can say with the psalmist: “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Ps. 34:1).
Yes, our old man always wants to do the opposite of praising, meditating and talking about the Lord, and Satan always works to distract us with anything but God’s word. We feel unable, and sometimes, unwilling. And the reason why we so often feel this way is simple: left to ourselves and according to our old man, we are unable and unwilling to meditate on God’s word day and night. But blessed be God, because in him, through Christ, we have not only all our salvation, but also the power by his Holy Spirit to walk in newness of life! Blessed be God, who has given us his Holy Spirit dwelling in us, bending our wills to his will, renewing our minds to see the greatness of his name and work for us in Jesus Christ. Move on, dear saint, in the strength of the Lord, the only author and captain of our salvation, and partake of the means of grace that he has established for his people.
God enlarges our hearts in the way of spiritual exercise…When God enlarges the heart of his child, he does so not without, but through the heart-exercise of the renewed and sanctified saint, longing and yearning, praying and seeking, searching the word, dwelling in the midst of God’s people, fighting the good fight, walking in the way of his good commandments. Thus the saint goes from strength to strength, rejoicing in the Lord and confiding in his promise.[1]
As we continually and daily cling to Christ alone by listening and reading his preached and written word, by praying, fellowshipping with the saints, and striving for godliness, the Lord works in us in his good appointed time, so that we may increasingly make the psalmist’s confession our own: “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:97).
[1] Herman Hoeksema, All Glory to The Only Good God (Jenison, MI: Reformed Free Publishing, 2013), 299.
Art by Ferdinand Pauwels.
