School of Piety or the Practice of Godliness 

By holy devout meditation we mean to say that a true lover of piety should set aside a certain time each day in which he pulls himself away from all outward earthly and worldly matters, goes into his own heart, and brings up heavenly spiritual things for consideration. Such holy devout meditation is useful for piety for the following reasons:

Ex Dei mandato [from the command of God]: because God the Lord commands such holy meditation of us. God the Lord said to Abraham “Look at the heavens and count the stars if you are able to count the stars. So shall your descendants be” (Gen. 15:5-6). God the Lord presented the innumerably great quantity of stars for consideration as an image and sign that his spiritual offspring would be an innumerable quantity. Job says in his book: “Ask the beasts and they will teach you; the birds of the air and they will tell you. Or the plants of the earth speak to you and will teach you and the fish of the sea will declare to you” (Job 12:7-8). Such teachings and questions are nothing other than a holy zealous meditation by which one considers these creations by God and the Creator’s wisdom, goodness, and power. “Take notice of this and consider the wondrous works of God” (Job 37:14). “Commune with your heart on your bed” (Ps. 4:4). “Consider the works of God who can make straight what he has made crooked” (Eccl. 7:13). Christ says, “Consider the birds of the air”; “Consider the lilies of the fields” (Matt. 6:26, 28). “Consider the ravens” (Luke 12:24). In this way Christ presents the birds of the air, the plants of the earth, so that we should look at and consider them in order to know of God’s wonderful, fatherly care and governance.

Ex Sanctorum Exemplo (from the example of the saints): because the saints of God engage in such meditation: See how Isaac went out to meditate in field in the evening and how the holy scriptures say the that he wanted to meditate on the wonders of God in the work of creation and in the promises revealed in his word (Gen. 24:63). David says, in matutinis mediabor, “I will meditate on you in the morning; when I lie on my bed I will think of you; when I awake I will speak of you” (Ps. 63:6). Asaph says, “I commune with my heart in the night as I play music; I will meditate and search my spirit” (Ps.77:6). “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways” (Ps. 119:15). “When I consider how your have directed the world, I will be comforted” (Ps. 119:52). “I remember your name in the night and keep your law” (Ps. 119: 55). “When I think of your ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies” (Ps. 119:59). “I awake early so that I might meditate on your words” (Ps. 119:148). “My tongue will sing of your word, for all your commandments are right: (Ps. 119:172). The secure and the wicked are punished because “they do not regard the deeds of the Lord or see the works of his hand” (Is. 5:12).

Ex meditationis fructu [from the profit of meditation]: because such meditation is very useful, wholesome, and edifying, bringing us to awareness of God and ourselves, turning our hearts from the earthly to the heavenly, preparing and warning our hearts so that we are afterward more fervent in prayer, defending us against security and wickedness so that we are not without understanding like a dumb animal. David speaks of this: “Blessed is the man who delights in the law and meditates on it day and night” (Ps. 1:2). He also uses such a word in the scriptures when he says, “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable” (Ps. 19:14). “The invisible nature of God, that is his eternal power and deity, has been seen in things he has made, namely, the creation of the world” (Rom. 1:20). It is through inward, heartfelt meditation that one discerns such things.

Ex typo [from typology]: God has ordained in his law that the only animal to be considered pure is the one that chews its cud (Lev. 11:3). This shows that it is characteristic of a righteous Christian and someone pleasing to God to ruminate on God’s word and works or to meditate on them attentively. The word of God is a holy seed (Luke 8:11). In order for the seed to bear fruit it must be received by good soil where it will be held, kept warm, and moistened. Likewise, if the spiritual seed of the divine word is to be fruitful for piety or godliness, it must be kept warm and protected through meditation in the heart. The word of God is the true bread of life [manna], by which God the Lord feeds our soul (Deut. 8:3). In order for the physical bread to be nourishing to the body it must be chewed and digested. Likewise, if spiritual bread, the Word of God, is to feed and fill our souls it must also be chewed and digested through meditation so that it is distributed after that throughout the body.

Johann Gerhard