Thomas Watson's book on meditation

[Reformed Covenanter]

Recently, I read the Northampton Press edition of Thomas Watson's book, The Christian on the Mount. While I would encourage everyone who can to get a hardcopy version, those of you who prefer ebooks or simply cannot afford hard copies may read it for free on Monergism. The practical advice on subjects like what to meditate upon and how long to meditate are immensely helpful. I had always thought of meditation in terms of musing upon the scriptural passages that you are currently reading. While there is a place for that, it is difficult for the ordinary believer to do that for sustained periods of time with spiritual profit.

Watson advises that we meditate on a specific topic such as one of God's attributes, the cross of Christ, or the fewness of those who are saved. In doing so, I have found that it has enabled me to see more clearly how various biblical doctrines are interconnected. For example, when meditating on the love of God, you learn how it ties in with other doctrines such as divine simplicity, impossibility, the covenant of grace, election, and the atonement. (Not to mention the practical significance of the doctrine for loving the brethren and loving our enemies.)

He also makes a very useful point about the length of time spent meditating. While there are no hard and fast rules about precisely how long we should meditate, Watson compares it to a man warming himself at a fire. (Remember that David said, "while I was musing, the fire burned within me.") If a man is cold, he will stand at a fire until he gets warm. Thus, if a man has a cold heart, he ought to stand at the fire of meditation until he warms his affections. I have found it useful to meditate on a particular subject when eating breakfast, showering, driving, walking, and exercising. As a result, the Lord is giving me greater victory over besetting sins. I recall Hugh Martin saying that if we are struggling with a besetting sin, it is often a sign that there is another serious problem that we need to fix. Perhaps, for many of us, who do observe daily private worship and attend the public means of grace, that problem is a lack of meditation.

 

[Stephen L Smith]

Daniel, you have raised an important topic here. I appreciate that. I have been saying for some time we need to recover the Puritan practice of Biblical meditation.

Recently, I read the Northampton Press edition of Thomas Watson's book, The Christian on the Mount.

As a matter of interest, the edition published by Puritan Publications also includes Watson's sermon “The Saint’s Spiritual Delight”. This sermon covers the first part of Psalm 1:2, “But his delight is in the Law of the Lord.” I understand Watson preached this sermon first before the sermons that would become his classic treatise on Puritan meditation.

The practical advice on subjects like what to meditate upon and how long to meditate are immensely helpful. I had always thought of meditation in terms of musing upon the scriptural passages that you are currently reading. While there is a place for that, it is difficult for the ordinary believer to do that for sustained periods of time with spiritual profit.

Specular meditation is often pushed today as an aid to improve mental health. It is argued that it is very good for brain health. I don't know if any science supports this but the Puritans certainly believed it was spiritually good for a person.

I recall Hugh Martin saying that if we are struggling with a besetting sin, it is often a sign that there is another serious problem that we need to fix. Perhaps, for many of us, who do observe daily private worship and attend the public means of grace, that problem is a lack of meditation.

This is helpful and advice I need to heed. One of my struggles is that I have a desire to read right through the scriptures at least once a year. However in the desire to do this one can rush through about four - five chapters a day and forget one also needs to meditate on scripture. I guess one solution is to select a passage from your normal Bible reading and meditate on that.

Recently Soli Deo Gloria published Ranew's classic work on meditation - one of the largest works on the subject. Ranew argues that one should never waste time when alone, for that time could be spent in meditating upon God. It is good spending waking moments meditating on the weighty things Romans 12:1-2