Squeezing Out the Sweet Juice

 

“But his [the blessed man’s] delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

—Psalm 1:2

Experts say that squeezing two to four oranges yields about eight ounces of juice. Nothing can beat genuine freshly-squeezed orange juice for flavor and sweetness. Yet, most of us would rather buy the “made from concentrate” brands in the supermarket. Why is that? Well, I suppose because of the time and mess involved. At least that’s my excuse.

And, why don’t Christians enjoy the sweet fellowship with God in Jesus Christ more? Probably for a similar reason. It takes time to squeeze out the best flavors from His written Word. Nothing substitutes for meditation on the written Word of God and the truly “sweet truths” we learn through it.

In Scripture, we read that David—named the “man after God’s own heart”—loved meditation. Vividly we see, in Psalm 19, that David meditated on the wonders of the sky, and the wonders of the laws of God. After considering, He prayed, as recorded in verse 14:

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

The 17th century Puritan minister, David Clarkson, wrote about the advancement of faith through meditation. He stated that God develops faith in us when we focus our thoughts on His express promises, on Scriptural assertions, on God’s acts through and on behalf of His people, on God’s work through the prayers of His people, and on God’s commandments. Clarkson writes:¹

Gather the promises and meditate on them. They are meat in this wilderness. Often be mining their treasures. Do not allow these pearls to lie neglected in the field. Treasure them up. Fill your memories with them. A promise treasured will afford comfort in our callings, dungeons, and banishments. Meditate frequently and seriously on them.

Occasionally, we should try paring down our Scripture reading to just a few verses and spend time meditating word by word. Specifically:

• Pen in hand, expand our thoughts about God and record our thoughts on paper.
  
  
• Write a prayer using the words of the verses we have just read.
  
  
• Remember a hymn that connects to the concepts on which we have just meditated.
  
  
• Consider other Scripture passages that bring out the same truths about God, and compare and contrast them.

In other words, squeeze out those “sweet juices.” If we do this, we will develop a connoisseur’s taste and build our faith in the process!

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1 Clarkson, David, quoted in Voices. Richard Rushing, editor. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2009. p. 174.