“My meditation of him shall be sweet ” (Psalm 104.34.)
Introduction. David was not a melancholy man. It has often been insinuated that the contemplation of divine things has a tendency to depress the spirits. Happy as a man may be, there is sweeter nectar for him at the fountain of atoning mercy. ‘My meditation of him shall be sweet.’
(1) A Profitable Exercise—‘Meditation.’ Many of you know nothing of this wholesome recreation of the mind. You would use up half an hour to earn a hundred pounds. But you have no time for meditation, which is most profitable to the spirit. Do not imagine that the meditative man is lazy. He is not the best student who reads the most books, but he who meditates the most upon them. We all need rest from work. Meditation is the rest of the spirit. Pause to look down upon the busy crowds; revel in the sacred visions recorded in Daniel. You will find such exercise a couch to your mind. You will return to your business in a better spirit. Your nerves will be braced to do more work, and better too. By reading, research, and study, we gather grapes; by meditation we press out the juice and obtain wine. Many men who read much know little. By not putting their facts into the press of meditation, they are left to rot and perish. So meditation is the rest of the soul, but also the means of making the best use of what the soul has acquired. Who are the men that can preach? Not those who gad about, but those who are always communing with their own hearts. But you did not come here to listen to a moral essay merely, but to hear something about the Gospel of God. David and Paul meditated continually on the statutes of God. I deny your wellbeing if you live without habitual meditation. Unless you meditate on the truths declared to you, you will gather little sweetness and be little edified.
(2) A Precious Subject—‘My Meditation of Him shall be Sweet.’ The word ‘him’ may refer to all three persons of the glorious Trinity. If you meditate on God the Father’s sovereign, unchangeable love towards his elect people, you will perceive that there is enough to engross your attention forever. If you think of God the Holy Spirit’s marvelous operations on your heart, you might find a vast and infinite subject for your meditation. And thou precious Jesus! what can be a sweeter theme than to think of thine exalted being, who fashioned this round world, and yet to consider thee wearing flesh like men? To picture thee in all thy suffering life and in all the anguish of thy death! To trace thee up the steep side of Calvary, bearing the cross, when thy soul was made an offering for my sins! Thou didst die the reconciling death amidst horrors that are known alone to God! Think of your choice moments with Christ, when you felt you could die with him, even as you had risen with him. Recollect that he who has redeemed the world by price will by power restore it and renew it. While you wait, meditate on his return.
(3) A Blessed Result—‘My Meditation of Him shall be Sweet.’ Some persons would say that a meditation on Christ is not sweet, but precious dry. Ah! that is because you have some of the powder of Sodom’s apples on your lips. You hear with your ears, but receive not with your hearts. We have to take many bitters in this life. What a mercy that there is one thing that is sweet! The widow has a sweet meditation to neutralize the bitterness of her reflections.
Selection from Conclusion. “You who have never meditated on Jesus Christ—what do you think shall become of you…When you have to drink that gall in hell for ever—when the cup of torments which Jesus did not drain for you will have to be drained by yourself—what will you do then?”
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