First, divine meditation must be frequent—ideally, twice a day, if time and obligations permit; certainly, at least once a day. If Joshua, as a busy commander, was ordered by God to meditate on His law day and night, shouldn’t we also delight in meditating on God’s truth every morning and evening? Generally speaking, the more frequently we meditate on the triune God and His truth, the more intimately we will know Him. Meditation will also become easier.1Calamy, Art of Divine Meditation, 96–101.
Lengthy intervals between meditations will hinder their fruit. As William Bates (1625–1699) wrote,
If the bird leaves her nest for a long space, the eggs chill and are not fit for production; but where there is a constant incubation, then they bring forth: so when we leave religious duties for a long space, our affections chill, and grow cold; and are not fit to produce holiness, and comfort to our souls.2Bates, Works, 3:124–25.
Second, set a time for meditation and stick to that time, the Puritans advised. That will put brackets around duty and defend you “against many temptations to omission,” wrote Baxter.3Baxter, Saints’ Everlasting Rest, 555. Let it be the most “seasonable time” for you, when you are most alert and not stressed by other obligations. Early morning is an excellent time because your meditations then will set the tone for the remainder of the day (Ex. 23:19; Job 1:5; Ps. 119:147; Prov. 6:22; Mark 1:35). Still, for some, evenings may be more fruitful (Gen. 24:63; Ps. 4:4). The busyness of the day is behind them, and they are ready to rest in “the bosom of God by sweet meditation”4Bates, Works, 3:126–27. Thomas Watson makes the strongest case for morning meditations (Sermons of Thomas Watson, 250–54). (Ps. 16:7).
Use the Lord’s Day for generous doses of meditation time. In their Directory for the Publique Worship of God, the Westminster divines advised “that what time is vacant, between, or after the solemn meeting of the congregation in public, be spent in reading, meditation, and repetition of sermons.”5See [Westminster divines], “Of the Sanctification of the Lord’s Day,” in Directory for the Publique Worship of God (London: T. R. and E. M. for the Company of Stationers, 1651). Thomas Gouge admonished, “Had you ever tasted of the sweetness of this duty of Divine Meditation, you would find little time for vain talk, and idle discourses, especially upon the Lords day.”6Gouge, Christian Directions, 66–67. Baxter asked, “What fitter day to ascend to heaven than that on which our Lord did arise from earth, and fully triumph over death and hell, and take possession of heaven for us?”7Baxter, Saints’ Everlasting Rest, 560.
Use special times as well for meditation. Richard Baxter suggests the following: “when God doth extraordinarily revive and enable thy spirit,” and “when thou art cast into perplexing troubles of mind, through sufferings, or fear, or care, or temptations.” He added, third, “When the messengers of God do summon us to die; when either our grey hairs, or our languishing bodies, or some such-like forerunners of death, do tell us that our change cannot be far off.”8Baxter, Saints’ Everlasting Rest, 561–63. William Fenner observed that a good time for meditation is “when the heart is touched at a Sermon or Sacrament, or observing of any judgment or mercy, or act of Gods providence, [for then] it is best striking when the Iron is hot (Ps. 119:23).”9William Fenner, The Use and Benefit of Divine Meditation (London: for John Stafford, 1657), 10. Finally, Thomas Manton suggested meditation “before some solemn duties, as before the Lord’s supper, and before special times of deep humiliation, or before the Sabbath.”10Manton, Works, 17:298.
Third, meditate “ordinarily till thou dost find some sensible benefit conveyed to thy soul.” Bates said that meditating is like trying to build a fire from wet wood. Those who persevere will produce a flame. When we begin to meditate, we may first garner only a bit of smoke, then perhaps a few sparks, “but at last there is a flame of holy affections that goes up towards God.” Persevere “till the flame doth so ascend,” Bates said.11Bates, Works, 3:125.
There will be times when the flame does not ascend. You must not then carry on indefinitely. “Neither yield to laziness, nor occasion spiritual weariness: the devil hath advantage upon you both ways,” Manton wrote. “When you torture your spirits after they have been spent, it makes the work of God a bondage.”12Manton, Works, 17:299.
Most Puritans did not advise a specific amount of time to be spent on meditation. However, James Ussher recommended at least one hour per week, and Thomas White suggested,
considering the parts of Meditation are so many, viz. Preparation, Considerations, Affections, Resolutions, &c. and none of them are to be passed slightly over, for Affections are not so quickly raised, nor are we to cease blowing the fire as soon as ever it beginneth to flame, until it be well kindled, half an hour [each day] may be thought to be the least for beginners, and an hour for those that are versed in this duty.13Ussher, Method for Meditation, 30–31; White, Method and Instructions for the Art of Divine Meditation, 29.
Excerpt from
How Can I Practice Christian Meditation?
By Joel Beeke
