“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word,” (Psalm 119:15, ESV).

Psalm 119 is more than just the longest chapter in the Bible; it is a thoughtful reflection on the blessing of God’s Word in the life of His children. The Psalmist uses the Hebrew alphabet as the basis for each section, beginning each time with the next letter of the alphabet. Six different times, the Psalmist notes that he will meditate on God’s Word, though he describes the Word in various ways. Even in our day, the life of the child of God is blessed by the act of receiving and meditating on the Word of God.

During this Lenten season, it is a good time for Christians to turn off the sound, the noise, the racket, and the devices. It is good for the child of God to spend time reading the Word of God., for the Word of the Lord will endure forever! Rather than being distracted by all the other competing sounds and voices, Christians are blessed to read the Word of God and meditate on God’s revelation of Himself to us in the Sacred Scriptures.

While many Christians are blessed by reading Christian authors or listening to faithful Lutheran teachers on podcasts, the example of the Psalmist is good for us to put into practice, especially during this Lenten season. Meditating on the Word of God means recognizing that the Holy Spirit guides and teaches us through the Scriptures. So, we read in the Psalms and then meditate on what it means to delight in God’s statutes and to remember and not forget His Word. In the morning, before the busyness of the day, may you be blessed by reading and meditating on the Word of God, so that through it the Holy Spirit may continue to sanctify you as a child of God, living by God’s grace and serving in Your vocation as a response to all that God has done for you.

Prayer – Blessed Lord, you have given us your Holy Scriptures for our learning. May we so hear them, read, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of eternal life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Fraternally in Christ,

President Lee Hagan