Faithful on Fridays Blog

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalms 19:14 

King David, the author of this poem, passionately desired alignment with his Lord, even in his thought-life, while growing in relationship with Him. He knew his thoughts were the springboard for his words which could cause trouble if he wasn’t careful. Therefore, the ‘meditation of his heart’ was vital to him; life begins in the heart.

This Hebrew word is fascinating since it has several shades of meaning. First of all, hagah (Hebrew word for meditation) is when you slow your reading down and take in every phrase, verse, or passage as if it’s a bite of a sumptuous dish. You slowly bite and chew with murmurs of delight, savoring the flavor, and letting it soak into your taste buds. Mmmmmm, that’s delicious, you murmur. Not rushing through it, you allow each bite to sit in your mouth as you enjoy it, while it nourishes your body. Can you picture reading the Bible like that?

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see— how good God is. Blessed are you who run to Him. Psalms 34:8 MSG

That’s a beautiful metaphor of how God’s Word satisfies your soul by showing His goodness to you. God used the same word-picture when He spoke to the prophet Ezekiel,

As I opened my mouth, He gave me the scroll to eat, saying, “Son of man, eat this book that I am giving you. Make a full meal of it!” So I ate it. It tasted so good—just like honey. Ezekiel 3:2-3 MSG

Much later the apostle John experienced the same direction yet with a different result,

I went up to the Angel and said, “Give me the little book.” He said, “Take it, then eat it. It will taste sweet like honey, but turn sour in your stomach.” I took the little book from the Angel’s hand and it was sweet honey in my mouth, but when I swallowed, my stomach curdled. Revelation 10:9-10 MSG

I’m using Dr. Eugene Peterson’s Message translation because he captures the essence of the passage helping us imagine God’s purpose for us … personally. As we unhurriedly read God’s Word it’s like taking that delicious bite, tasting it’s flavor, gradually chewing and savoring it, as it metabolizes and nurtures our heart. Sighs of pleasure escape our mouths as mmmmm, ahhhhh, ohhhhh, because much of God’s Word can produce the same results as we taste it … if we take the time to meditate on a passage or section of Scripture.

Granted, not every passage lends itself to meditation, however, most Psalms do, so when you find one that ministers to you don’t rush through it. Read and meditate on it, taking the time to enjoy the hagah.

I will ponder all Your work, and meditate on Your mighty deeds. Psalm 77:12 

Enjoy your meal.