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The blessed man meditates on God’s Word night and day

In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg would change the world with his invention of the printing press. The centuries leading up to this time meant that Bibles were often expensive and rare. Moreover, according to historians, most Europeans during this period could not read. It’s interesting to think about the reality that most Christians through the Church Age never owned their own copy of God’s Word and many believers couldn’t even read. These facts should encourage us in more than one way. First, we should be encouraged by God’s grace, working through many hard-working people who have mass-produced the Bible, so that we can enjoy reading God’s Word in our language. We can also be encouraged to know that God preserves His Church whether they are well resourced or not.

I have found that most Christians today carry a frequent feeling of guilt and shame that they don’t read the Bible more. For many of us, we are tempted to equate our love for the Lord based on our frequency and desire to be in the Word. At times, this conviction can be good and healthy. Other times, however, it can lead us to approaching Scripture as if it’s a chore. Sometimes, it may be helpful to remember that most Christians never owned a Bible or could even read it if they owned one. All this to say, let us not turn the privilege of personal Bible reading into a burden of performance, but neither neglect the extraordinary privilege we’ve been given. Let us remember the wonderful blessings of the modern church that we have such easy access to the word of God. I assume most ancient believers would have heard God’s Word and meditated and ruminated on what they heard all week.

This should be our example and practice as well. As Psalm 1 encourages us, to be like the blessed man who meditates on God’s Word night and day. The picture of meditation involves repeatedly reflecting and internalizing Scripture. Moreover, the blessed man has their affection, not merely their obligation, on God’s Word.  Even though most Christians couldn’t read the Bible every day as we can, we know that God brings change and nourishment to the hearts of his people as they dwell on the words of Christ. They are like trees beside the water brook that yield fruit in season and out of season. This week, I want to encourage you to see how wonderful it is to have access to God’s Word in your own language, and, in your encouragement, may you choose to dwell richly on His Word. I want to challenge you to read one Psalm every day this week. Take time to think, meditate, and ponder the Words. In doing so, may our God nourish our hearts and minds to form us more into the image of Christ, the true blessed man of Psalm 1.