October 12, Morning

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"I will meditate in Thy precepts." — Psalm 119:15 · KJV

There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence wiser than speech. We would be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting on God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labor in His service. We ought to muse on the things of God, for so we get the real nourishment out of them. Truth is something like the cluster of the vine: if we would have wine from it, we must bruise it; we must press and squeeze it many times. The treader's feet must come down joyfully on the bunches, or the juice will not flow; and they must tread the grapes well, or much of the precious liquid will be wasted. So we must, by meditation, tread the clusters of truth, if we would get from them the wine of consolation. Our bodies are not sustained merely by taking food into the mouth; the process that really supplies muscle, nerve, sinew, and bone is digestion. It is by digestion that the outward food is assimilated into the inner life. Our souls are not nourished merely by listening a while to this, and then to that, and then to another part of divine truth. Hearing, reading, marking, and learning all require inward digesting to complete their usefulness, and the inward digesting of truth lies mostly in meditating on it. Why is it that some Christians, though they hear many sermons, make but slow progress in the divine life? Because they neglect their prayer closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God's Word. They love the wheat, but do not grind it; they would have the corn, but will not go into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs on the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord, and be this our resolve this morning: "I will meditate in Thy precepts."