Last night was “Deep Conversation Night” at the St. John’s. A great time of fellowship and deep Christian discussion about an array of things. This old school fella named Thomas Watson wrote a book called, The Christian Soldier in 1669. In he wrote about intentional Christianity in our personal and public lives. Here is some of what he writes!:
“Take heed of a slothful, lazy disposition. A slothful person would gladly have Heaven–but is loathe to take it by storm. Sloth is the soul’s sleep. Many,instead of working out salvation, sleep away salvation! Such as will not labor, must be put at last to beg. They must beg, as Dives in hell–for one drop of water! God never made Heaven as a hive for drones! Sloth is a disease apt to grow upon men–shake it off! A sluggish ship is a prey to the pirate. A sluggish soul is a prey to Satan! When the crocodile sleeps with his mouth open–the rat gets into his belly and eats his entrails. Just so, while men are asleep in sloth–the Devil enters and devours them! Our sleeping time is Satan’s tempting time!“
“Meditation is a holy exercise of the mind; whereby we bring the truths of God to remembrance–and seriously ponder upon them and apply them to ourselves. It is a work which cannot be done in a crowd. A Christian must retire from the world, to have serious thinking upon God. It is not a few transient thoughts that are quickly gone; but a fixing and staying of the mind upon heavenly objects.
As the bee sucks the honey from the flower–so by meditation we suck out the sweetness of a truth.
It is not the receiving of food into the mouth, but the digesting of it, which makes it nutritious. Just so, it is not the receiving of the most excellent truths in the ear, which nourishes our souls–but the digesting of them by meditation.Satan does what he can to hinder this duty. He is an enemy of meditation. The devil does not care not how much we read–so long as we do not meditate on what we read. Reading begets knowledge–but meditation begets devotion. “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.” Psalm 119:97Holy meditation quickens the affections. The reason why our affections are so cold to heavenly things–is because we do not warm them at the fire of holy meditation. As the musing on worldly objects makes the fire of lust burn; and as the musing on injuries makes the fire of revenge burn; just so, meditating on the transcendent beauties of Christ, would make our love to Christ flame forth.
Meditation has a transforming power in it. The reading of the Word may affect us–but the meditating upon it transforms us. Meditation stamps the impression of divine truths upon our hearts. By meditating on God’s holiness, we grow holy. While by meditation we look upon God’s purity–we are changed into His likeness.
Meditation produces reformation. “I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes.” Psalm 119:59. If we would spend but one quarter of an hour every day in contemplating heavenly objects, it would leave a mighty impression upon us!”
