| Beloved, Ever since preaching Psalm 1 in April, I’ve been gripped by this man who makes Yahweh’s word His continual meditation. He has an obsessive love affair with the word of God, and he is chewing on it day and night. I’m no stranger to meditation, but what has particularly gripped me as of late is the constancy of this man’s meditation. How did he do it? As I have considered this psalm and sought to walk in it by suffusing my life with biblical mediation, I have come to realize that part of the psalmist’s secret is found in his illustrations. The Bible is full of illustrations which draw analogies between spiritual truths and tangible things we encounter in our world. Psalm 1 gives us multiple illustrations/similes – trees and chaff. Both would have been tangible things people in the ANE encountered on a regular basis. We might be strangers to chaff, but none of us are strangers to trees. They are everywhere! And what I have been realizing is that the robust, sturdy, leafy trees that I encounter daily are God-ordained illustrations of what God calls me to be. In other words, the psalmist’s Spirit-inspired illustration beckons me to think Psalm 1 every time I see a tree. General revelation (i.e., creation) is to be a help in meditating upon special revelation (i.e., Scripture). Let me flesh this out a bit. A couple months ago, I hit a very thick, wooden electrical pole across the street from the church in my Toyota. The pole did not budge an inch, but it sure did a number of my Camry. Now when I drive by that pole, I’m training myself to pray, “Lord, make me a sturdy, immovable tree that is able to endure the hardest blows by your grace. Make me like the blessed man who lives upon your word and grace.” Who would have thought a fender-bender with an electrical pole could serve my meditation on God’s word? Or how about an example that gets even closer to the psalmist’s illustration. On Monday morning, I was running the trail along the gorge at Cloudland Canyon. The trail parallels the stream for about two miles, but in between the trail and stream are countless trees, stretching 100 feet into the air. They have roots that are constantly drawing nourishment from the stream. Each tree serves as a picture of the blessed man who thrills in God’s covenantal word and thrives by God’s covenantal grace. And as I’m running, I’m saying, “God, make me like that! Make Tessa like that! Make the boys like that!” And then as I listen to the stream, my mind moves to Psalm 23, and I begin to meditate on my good Shepherd who leads me beside still waters and restores my soul. The gentle flow of the stream beckons me to consider God’s gracious dealings with me in this wilderness world. It also beckons me to pray for my sheep that are in the valley of the shadow of death. “Don’t leave them there, God! Lead them out to your reviving streams.” And then as I continue running, the water grows louder and louder as I draw near to a waterfall, and my mind is suddenly turned to Psalm 29 and the voice of the Lord that thunders like many waters, and I’m praying, “Lord, cause your voice to thunder in my soul like that. Cause your voice to thunder in the souls of your people at Cornerstone!” Illustrations are powerful things. And I’m growing in the conviction that they are part of the key to meditating upon God’s word day and night. The creation beckons us to ponder, chew upon, and ingest the truth of Scripture so that we might flourish as God’s people. Let’s seize upon these God-ordained analogies toward that end! Yours in Christ, Pastor Nick |
