Mumble & Mutter!

Daq Daj chut ghaH ja''eghqa'taH jaj je ram.
On his law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:2b)
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Okay, I admit it - I talk to myself! (Of course, with a spouse or some other close observer that is the kind of thing that is hard to keep a secret forever. )

I can explain this "talking to myself": it is a useful strategy for pushing things over from short-term memory to the long-term storage. Anyone on the far side of fifty can appreciate this. And it could be worse. I take comfort in something I was once told: "it's okay to talk to yourself - as long as you don't start answering."

"Talking to yourself" is usually taken to mean either you have no audience, or that you're completely cracked.  Maybe then it comes as a surprise that Psalm 1 admires just that action - in fact it seemes to be what the Bible admonishes us to do.

Turn to Psalm 1:2 and you'll learn that the blessed person:

ja''eghqa'taH jaj je ram - meditates day and night on God's law

The Hebrew word used here for meditate is "hagah," to murmur - the sense here is to review, rehearse, recite, and remember God's words by saying them over and over to oneself.

Originally 'meditate', not being a common word in the World English Bible (hardly more than a dozen times) was not included in the Klingon Language Version. Since working on these studies, I've added it, using the word "ja''eghqa'" to carry the meaning. "ja'," to report, "'egh," -to-oneself, and "-qa'," again: ja''eghqa': report-again-to-oneself, meditate.

By example, we're told in this psalm that it is vital to "ja''eghqa'" - repeat to oneself - God's word continually.

This is practical advice. Whether a grocery list or God's commandments - repeating the words fixes them in one's mind for easy retrieval. And why would we want to do that? Psalm 119 says it well:

jIH ghaj hidden lij mu' Daq wIj tIq, vetlh jIH might ghobe' yem Daq SoH
I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11

This is bedrock: if you want to see the foundations for a life that is ghurtaH Quch 'ej, blessed and happy, you'll find it following this example: continually, recite, repeat, remember - ja''eghqa' God's words, till they become the touchstone by which you can measure and evaluate your life.

In college, I learned about this from a group called the Navigators, who are big proponents of memorizing scripture and meditating on it - they promote ja''eghqa' - though not by that name.

Try it yourself: find a good verse of scripture that speaks to you. Review and review it, till you know it backwards and forwards - I've found you gain more than just knowledge of a few lines of text. Instead you have a resource for your own reflection, ammunition for your own life of prayer. With a vocabulary rooted in the Word, and regular reflection on it, you may experience what is promised in the book of Joshua:


This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.
Joshua 1:8