Jesus Creed

Jesus Creed

Royal pains

posted by xscot mcknight | 2:10am Thursday November 16, 2006

The psalmist’s longing to know God through the study and observance of Torah is not without opposition. He is aware of those who are “insolent” (119:21) and stray from the commandments. Even more, he experiences “taunt and abuse” (v. 22) and the “princes meet and speak against me” (v. 23).
It is not clear who this prince is: could be military, could be priestly, could be other royals. We don’t know; they are a pain to the psalmist. Nor are we certain who wrote this psalm. What we do know is what the text says: the psalmist is opposed in his commitment to do the Torah.
In spite of that, the psalmist makes one thing clear: “your servant studies your laws.” The word “studies” (siyach) means to germinate and to meditate; or, even better, to mutter to oneself through or to ponder and think upon and through.
The daily hours, the habit of pausing at set times in the day, permits us to hear the Word throughout the day and to give to us something to ponder and meditate on. The daily habit of reading the Bible does the same. The habit of memorizing permits the same. However you and I do it, the point is to get these words into the mind so we can chew on them, let them germinate, ponder, and meditate.
Those who for a variety of reasons — most of them highly uninformed — oppose the practice of meditation are opposing something explicitly taught in the Bible.



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Related Topics: Psalm 119
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Ted Gossard

posted November 16, 2006 at 5:45 am


Yes. Apart from my weak doing of what the psalmist is speaking of here, I’m ever off track. And when I know I am, this is a primary means I use to get back on. Meditating on by going over and pondering the words of Jesus and the words of Scripture. Important to me as a daily thing.
Thanks for your helpful thoughts here, Scot.



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Matt Wiebe

posted November 16, 2006 at 11:03 am


Mutter to oneself?! If that’s meditating, I can do that; I do it all the time!



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