When leading a college-level course on Spiritual Formation, I’ve heard the response a few times: “Why write poetry you know no one will read?” I’m sure we can understand the sentiment—not many of us will be remembered for our journals like Jonathan Edwards or Anne Dutton. However, we are encouraged by their writing style, perplexed by some of their narratives, and even left wondering why they wrote when they didn’t know anyone might read beyond their first audiences. The means of reflective, biblical meditation, such as these former saints engaged in, may not be our experience, but the discipline of biblical meditation jumps straight at us from Scripture.
Even for those who do not enjoy reading or writing poetry, the process remains pregnant with spiritual benefits. The work of applying Scripture, organizing the mind, resting in a prayerful engagement with your heart before the Lord—how could these not develop spiritual fruit? The following advice is intended for your own spiritual edification in learning a new means for biblical meditation. Likewise, for those in preaching and teaching ministries, the following has served me as one small part of my regular sermon preparation.
Let’s look at three components of poetic biblical meditation.
Remembrance
When writing poetry in contemplation of a Bible passage, we operate two kinds of remembrance. First, the action of remembering the scope of the account and its context. Second, the personal act of recalling events in our own lives, even previous engagements with that Scripture. As should be easily deduced, the biblical account must come first. The Bible speaks of remembering as a discipline, both in forms of command and of spiritual endeavor. God causes His name to be remembered (Exodus 20:24). The Spirit used prophets to remind men and women of their obstinance and wickedness (1 Kings 17:18; Hosea 8:13). The Spirit enlightens the mind to remember for purifying doctrine and serves to lead recall in the prayers of the saints (John 12:16; 13:7; 14:26; 2 Timothy 1:3–4). Likewise, expositors like John Calvin intimate a necessity of remembrance for a multiplicity of uses, such as benefiting our growth by seeing how God has intervened, preserving our strength and stamina by assuring us of His promises, and correcting us by revealing our sins and the wickedness of others.[1]
By working our minds through the territory of imagination, guarded by our orthodox doctrines, we can engage the Scripture prayerfully, seeking to apply what we know of the context and how we interact therein. Rewording and organizing the themes and artistry of the passage in its context draws us to see ourselves in consideration of the truths God brings to us and from His Spirit within us.
Digestion
As we make notes and begin ordering the passage as a meditation, we digest the Scripture in a way that we perhaps wouldn’t preach or teach. Yet this process allows us to digest the truths and applications from a different part of the brain. We draw out, ruminate, cogitate on the doctrinal truths until we can develop them in our own words, and then beautify those expressions. The deep analysis of exposition finds a partner here in expressing truths we would otherwise preach, into truths we force ourselves to rephrase and experience in a sensory exercise (touching, tasting, hearing, seeing, remembering). Keeping the Word primary, we are called to be taught, edified, corrected, and encouraged by the doctrines and truths expounded in the Word. By exercising the artistic components, we engage our whole selves without falling into occultism, eastern mysticism, or the cloud of unknowing—biblical meditation has a longer tenure than any of those demonic rituals. Reformed Baptists are grounded in solid doctrine, but this does not mean we can’t digest a text poetically once in a while.
Through the art and practice of reworking, drawing out theological nuance, and exploration of our sensory faculties, we experience personal edification. The process of meditation from David or Moses demonstrates the God-given capacity to ruminate upon the world while turning those experiences and language into a means for profiting the church, ultimately glorifying God according to the deep truths of His attributes so far explored. With these former saints, we look to the stars and wonder at God’s care (Psalm 8), we consider the ant and learn God’s provision (Proverbs 6:6–11), we cogitate on the sparrows and see the providence of our Creator and the neglect we foster in our fretfulness (Luke 12:6–7), and we hear one crushing grapes and discover the Triumphant Savior valiant in blood (Revelation 14:19–20). Digestion in poetic biblical meditation leads to intimate expressions of the text as it requires sufficient time to spend calculating the words, exhausting the memory banks, and taking seriously the act of thinking of that which is praiseworthy, true, beautiful and excellent according to the words God has given.
Adoration
As this process takes a personal shape, our meditative work infills our minds to reprocess even our own mental, emotional, and spiritual state according to God’s Word. Meditation is purgative in the sense that we forsake worldly understanding and the words and topics that would hinder our praise. Meditation is formative in the sense that we draw near to Christ by faith, establish words, word-pictures, and the mental acuity to rightly speak of Him and share His work within us and without us. Biblical meditation serves as personal praise to God both in the primary work of seeking to draw out and prepare the poetic material, as well as the application of the work in worship and as worshipful.
God deserves to be worshipped through His Word; the poet thus anticipates that the text will teach and appeal to the senses and intellect, heart and faith of the reader—even if it is just that single pilgrim drawing upon the text. The adoration which flows out of meditation ought to leave a mark upon our prayers, sermons, or witness in general. As a pastor, I often force myself into the questions: How am I using the text not only to preach but to adore? How will the Spirit use the text not only to edify my walk of obedience but to stir my affections in every faculty of my personhood?
Concluding remarks
Poetic biblical meditation draws us to make a recreation of our words and expressions. Through this discipline, we are put into a place where we seek wordsmith precision. We are forced to capitalize on tact and correct vocabulary, tempo and cadence, grammar, and emphases. Does such work hinder our pulpit presence? Our goal is spiritual vitality, adoration of the Triune God, and usefulness in offering our words back to God’s people. Even if you fail miserably at writing poetry, others in your congregation likely live in an artistic world that must and ought to be used to serve and glorify Jesus Christ—only in Him will such desires be satisfied.
About the Author
Christopher Ellis Osterbrock (DEdMin. in Biblical Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; PhD Student in Historical Theology, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary) is senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Wellsboro, PA. He is the author of What is Saving Faith? (March, 2022), as well as editor of several reprints
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[1] I recently wrote an in-depth analysis of Calvin’s use of remembrance drawn from his Institution (1550). See Christopher Ellis Osterbrock, “‘To Recall Godly Minds from Despair’: The Utility of Memory as a Spiritual Discipline in John Calvin’s Institutio,” in Puritan Reformed Journal 18.1 (January 2026).
This blog post is authored by a student of Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary.
