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8 This Book of the Law
shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it
day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that
is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous,
and then you will have good success.
This Book of the Law
refers to scripture. Joshua 1:8 specifically refers to Genesis
through Deuteronomy, the Law, the Torah, or the five books
written by Moses. But it can be expanded to refer to the entire
Book of the Law, the scripture, all of the Word of God. It says
that is should not depart from your mouth. That is to say, you
should be speaking the things of scripture at all times. That
will happen when you meditate in it day and night. It is a
simple principle. You saturate your mind, you saturate your
thoughts with the Word of God and it comes out in your speech.
The Bible says as a man thinks in his heart so he is. Out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. When you are filled
with the Word of God that’s what’s going to come out of your
mouth. But you have to be filled with it. That’s why meditating
on the word is so important. That’s one reason God gave us a
book, words on a page, which are frozen there permanently. You
look at it, and you meditate, and you compare and you contrast,
and you synthesize, and you interpret. That’s meditation. Having
a book was the best way possible to put a tool in your hands to
teach you how to meditate because there is the truth, frozen
permanently on the page. Look to the Word of God, meditate in it
day and night and it will start to come out of your mouth and
your speech will be as Paul said gracious and seasoned with salt
and edifying. Also the verse says this is for a purpose, this
meditation, that you may observe to do according to all that is
written in it. That’s what will happen as you meditate on the
Word of God. Psalm 19 says,” O Lord you govern, you guard, the
meditation of my heart.” Why, because that’s what’s going to
show up in my behavior. The Bible is spiritual food, it
nourishes and it shapes you as a Christian, and it brings
blessing. It says if you do this, meditate, speak the word, live
the word, you will make your way prosperous and you’ll have good
success. That’s the message of a real prosperity gospel. The
promise of God is blessing on your life, blessing on your
spiritual effort and spiritual enterprise through the deep
understanding and the application of scripture. - John
MacArthur
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