Psalms 119:15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
The psalmist resolves that he will meditate in God’s precepts. Let’s define the word meditate.
Meditate - To muse over or reflect upon; to consider, study, ponder.
The psalmist would not just read or hear God’s precepts. He would focus his thoughts on them and toss them over in his mind. The verse we consider today follows logically from the preceding verse in which the psalmist stated that he had rejoiced in the way of God’s testimonies. If you really enjoy something, you will devote more thought to it. Commenting on this verse, Charles Bridges wrote: “The thoughts follow the affections.” How true! Therefore, we must guard against allowing our minds to become so crowded with the cares and pleasures of this life that they dampen the joy we have in the way of God’s testimonies.
Zero in on those first two words: “I will.” We considered these words when we dealt with verse 8: “I will keep thy statutes.” We pointed out at that time that you must exercise your will in order to obey God’s commandments. If you only obey God on a wave of emotion, you will not stick with it. As soon as the emotion dies down, and it will, you will be on to something else. The same applies to meditation. You have to determine to meditate whether you feel like doing it or not. The thoughts of the mind must be harnessed and forced to focus on God’s word if we are to derive maximum benefit from it. Failure to spend time meditating on God’s word is not really owing to a lack of time. It is owing to a lack of will. If you want to do something enough, you will find a way to do it. If you discipline yourself to study God’s word, it will yield its treasures to you.
In connection with meditating on God’s precepts, the psalmist said to God, “I will…have respect unto thy ways.” To have respect unto God’s ways is to have regard to them, to give them attention and consideration, to have them in view. Meditation in God’s precepts is an essential step in giving due regard to God’s ways.
The expression thy ways can refer to the things God does, how He deals with His creation and especially with His children.
Job 26:12 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.
13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
14 Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?
Psalms 103:7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
Now we can never exhaustively understand God’s ways.
Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
But while we cannot fully know all of God’s ways, we can know some of them to some extent. And what we can know will be a great help to us. The expression thy ways also refers to the ways that God’s wants us to walk in this world, how He wants us to act and react.
Deuteronomy 8:6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
The more thought you devote to God’s word, the more respect you will have unto it. As you study and consider God’s word, its teaching will become embedded in your mind so that you will be able to recall it as you confront the difficulties and decisions of life. You will better understand how God is dealing with you and what He expects of you. This will not occur if you just casually read and listen to the Scriptures without really focusing your thoughts upon them. Commenting on this verse in his commentary on Psalm 119, Charles Bridges offered this quote by Professor Francke:
“If a chapter be read with the eye merely, while the mind remains inattentive, and the book be shut as soon as the chapter is finished, and thus, what has been read immediately escape the memory; what is there to surprise, if, after the whole Bible has been several times read through, we discover in ourselves no increase of piety and devotion?”
That sums up quite well what Psalm 119:15 is teaching us.
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