The Power of Meditation–Ps 19:14, Drummondtown Baptist Church, Dr. Denny, January 27, 2019

Review:
Last week we discovered the Fountain of Life (Ps 36) mentioned by David.  God’s wants you to drink from Him, to commune with Him daily.  And in this constant spiritual dialogue, He will infuse you with love and joy and a purpose for living.

Introduction:
Today we will take another step in our relationship with the divine.  We will learn the power of meditation. When you first hear this phrase, the power of meditation, you might conjure up images of crazy people sitting high on a mountain communing with nature.  But let’s not be alarmed by meditation.  David himself valued it and took daily time to calm himself and connect himself to God.

*The University of Rochester Medical Center in NY has an informative article on the Power of Meditation https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=1&contentid=2509

The staff at the school reminds us that our modern lives are already very stressful.  And as we focus daily on our worries and anxieties, the stress level in our lives often rises to the breaking point.  (We all can see this especially in the federal workers who have been furloughed).  Lingering on life’s problems can affect your health and your mental well-being and the medical staff urges everyone to cultivate the art of healthful mediation.  One quote from the article says, “Meditation allows you to become more awake and more purposeful about your actions.  It teaches you how to respond, rather than react, to situations in your life.”

             **I watched a short video from another source on the basics of mediation.  Here is what the instructor said to do:

—Sit on the floor with legs folded or in a chair if needed.  —-Place your hands before you—Spine erect—breathing from the abdomen in slow breaths—Avoid distractions—Let them pass by and merely witness them—don’t linger on them.  Start with only a 1 minute and work up to 10-20 minutes a day.  The effects will linger long after the session is over.

1. David’s Troubled Life:

Today we take our inspiration from King David who mediated daily and wrote the Psalms that came from his that flooded his heart during these quiet times with God. But we must remember that David had a troubled life.  His family was in disarray most of the time.  He had multiple wives as was the custom of the day.  His children fought with one another.  One son,  Amnon, raped his half-sister Tamar.  The infuriated another son named Absalom who managed to get revenge by killing the brother. Absalom ran away home to avoid the wrath of the king.  David wouldn’t speak to his son for years. Etc..  An yet—still David found time to meditate and through these quiet times, he always found hope and forgiveness and direction.

2. David’s Meditation: Let’s step quietly into David’s palace that looked out over the Kidron Valley below the great temple mount.  https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/jerusalem/did-i-find-king-davids-palace/

*Archaeologists think they may have found David’s palace in this location according to an article written 2017 by Eilat Mazar.  The remains of a massive structure date to the times of David.  Let’s imagine we are setting on edge of the great palace looking out toward the valley and the hills beyond.  There David settles himself in the morning breeze and begins to quiet his soul.

He calms his breathing and discards the anxieties that roil his soul.  He begins by contemplating the majestic movement of the sun as it rises slowly across the horizon (Ps 19:1-6).  He images god sending out the sun like a bridegroom stepping out of his chamber.

Next, he finds immense pleasure in thinking of the majesty of the commandments and law of God (7-12).  These words of God are sweeter than honey and in his meditation, he tastes the honeycomb and finds peace in God’s guiding words to him.

Conclusion:
Then after a certain time, he closes his meditation with a short prayer:  (v14):  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

David R.Denny Ph.D.
Visions501@gmail.com