Psalm 1:2
“But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Psalm 1:2 KJV
“I have no rest, but in a nook with the book” – Thomas Kempis (1380-1471)
In the preceding verse we were introduced to the Blessed man of Psalm 1. In that verse he is described negatively. He is blessed, first, for what he will not do. He is happy because he turns away from the counsel of the ungodly and the way of sinners and the seat of the scornful. He avoids it, passes not by it, turns from it, and passes away (Prov. 4:14-15). But that is not all. He is now described positively. He is not only blessed for what he does not do, but for what he does do. He turns away from the counsel of the ungodly and he turns to the law of the LORD. There are only two voices that call out to us in this life. The counsel of the ungodly rushes in upon us from every side and comes in all forms and flavors, but the counsel of God comes from only one source – God’s law or word. Each of us are faced with a choice to turn to one and reject the other and be cursed or blessed accordingly. Blessed is the man who turns to God’s law and delights in it (1Thess. 1:9).
Notice that the blessed man is not blessed for simply reading God’s law, or knowing it, or memorizing it. He is not blessed for mentally acknowledging its divine origin, authority, and infallibility. He is blessed because he loves it. The word ‘delight’ here is from the Hebrew word chephets which has to do with our will, desire, and pleasure. When it says that he delights in God’s law it means his will, affections, and desires are bent toward the word of God. This Hebrew word is found in Proverbs 31:13 to describe the attitude of the wise, virtuous woman, “She…worketh willingly (chephets) with her hands….” She happily and cheerfully works because she delights in and loves her work. Do you love God? If you do, you will love and delight in His word – the book He wrote for you. This is the test to find out a true Christian. A true Christian is found out not by what he or she does per say but by what he delights in. The Christian falls short of God’s law all his days. What makes him different than the lost sinner? He cries out, “O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes.” (Ps. 119:5). He says this because He loves God’s law and desires to obey it because it is good. One pastor has stated it this way, “The distinguishing mark of true salvation is a desire to hear and obey the word”
How may one know if they love God’s law? The second half of the verse contains the test to find this out. He who loves God’s word will meditate upon it day and night. Matthew Henry has rightly observed that, “what we love, we love to think of.” The Psalmist wrote in Ps. 119:97, “O how I love thy law! It is my meditation all the day.” Our love for God is measured by our love for His word. Our love for His word is measured by our meditation upon His word. What a convicting test! Allow me to clarify the meaning of the word meditation. When the Bible speaks of meditation it is not using the Buddhist definition of the word meditation. When most people think of meditation, they think of emptying the mind of all thought and putting it in neutral and then humming. But biblical meditation is quite the opposite. To meditate is to think very seriously and diligently about something. It is to roll something over repeatedly in the mind. Barthomolew Ashwood wrote, “Meditation chews the cud…” God’s word is to be at the center of our affections and our thoughts. What is at the center of your meditations? “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” (Prov. 23:7).
For further study on this verse see: (Psa. 119:15, 78, 148, Joshua 1:8)