The city of God, Jerusalem, and the Temple are inextricably connected in the minds of the people of Israel. Some beauty of the city emanates from the wondrous reality that God dwelled in the Temple (though not exclusively). The Temple served as a place to remember and recount God’s victorious deeds as God established, protected, and guided the people of God.
The people of Israel viewed those powerful deeds of God as a sign of God’s steadfast love. Translations of verse 9 employ a variety of verbs to describe the act of remembering and recounting: ponder, meditate, contemplate, reflect, have thought of. All the actions imply a sense of active waiting, which may seem hard to do. Choose one of the verbs that feels comfortable to you and consider when and where you find it easiest to practice.
This process of reflection connects to what God has done in the past. Looking back with the intent of seeing God’s hand at work plays a role in the kind of pondering that took place in the Temple and that we are invited to do today. Connecting God’s past actions with God’s love is another aspect of contemplation.
Some people ponder best when their hands are busy, perhaps with gardening, knitting, or washing dishes. Some people reflect most easily when their bodies are engaged in walking, running, swimming, or biking. Others reflect by writing journal entries or poetry, or through music and other creative activities. The psalms result from such pondering. Individuals thought about God’s actions and love and sang of what they had been thinking about. The psalms offer an excellent aid to pondering because they give us language to express the connection between God’s action and God’s love.