Two Roads Lie Ahead
Two Roads Lie Ahead
On his law he meditates day and night.
—Psalms 1:2
Dear Believer, the first chapter of the book of Psalms is an instructive portrait of your dilemma. Two roads lie ahead of you. To the right runs the road of blessedness, and to the left goes the cursed path.
The blessed man is the one who fears the Lord and repents of sin—who looks to the cross of Christ for salvation. But here, your attention is directed to the blessed man’s manner of living. What is the orientation of his life? He meditates upon the Word of God constantly so that it dwells in him richly (Col 3:16). Let this be said of your life, dear Christian. This sacred habit forms the foundation stones of the straight path taken by those whose souls would prosper under the reign of God (Matt 7:24-27).
To meditate means to think deeply. It is to mull over an idea—to ponder carefully. The bee sucks the flower, and then works it into the hive and so turns it into honey. By reading we suck the flower of the Word, by meditation we work it into the hive of our mind, and so it turns to profit (Thomas Watson). Set about the work of thinking continually and carefully about what the Bible says. Write these truths upon the tablet of your heart and let your soul steep in them (Prov 7:1-3).
Do you see what fruit results from this blessed practice? Those who meditate on the Scriptures are like a tree whose roots are watered by a nearby flowing stream. Its leaves never wither, even when the sun beats down and no rain falls (Pss 92:14). When you meditate upon God’s Word, you draw from a secret spring everflowing with life.
Profitable meditation requires time. He meditates day and night. May you never be far from your Bible (Deut 17:19). Be planted in its pages. The tree is full of vigor because it is rooted by the stream. Were it to migrate, its source of life would be cut off. Child of God, you must stay near these words from which runnels of living water rise, for it is by drinking from them that you have life and remain enlivened despite the parched land all around you.
O Lord, You who inhabit eternity, to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal life, and I have believed. Help my unbelief! (Isa 57:15; John 6:68; Mark 9:24)
