Today while teaching I had one of those "aha" moments. I don't know how many times I've read, quoted, or sung the first Psalm, but as I was thinking about the word "meditate" in verse 2, for the first time it dawned on me that "meditation" is a very physical activity. The Hebrew word hagah literally means "to murmur" or to "mumble". It is used elsewhere of animals making noises (doves cooing and lions growling) and of the people grumbling and conspiring -- all of which are very physical, audible activities. Meditation isn't simply thinking deeply about something. It is actively speaking it, and in the process of speaking it, the thinking about it occurs.
Over the holiday break I was listening to Handel's Messiah, and the lyric led me to Isaiah 40. I memorized the entire chapter over the course of a couple days, and in those moments when no one was around, while I was driving, or waiting for my son to get out of school, I simply recited it. And the act of reciting the text aloud caused to me to think about the passage in all kinds of ways. Questions came to mind. Connections to other texts were made. The beauty of the poetry captivated me. I gained deeper appreciation for the humility, supremacy, and wisdom of God as I lingered on the images in the text -- a tender voice, a highway for our God, a shepherd carrying his lamb close to his heart, marking off the heavens with the breadth of a hand. As I spoke the text I was struck by the beauty, wonder, and the glory of the Lord. I worshiped. And it all began with hagah.