Reflections on a Psalm

I was out driving one day recently and the first Psalm came to my mind. I am not sure why, but sometimes God just plants something in your mind and says, “Think about this.” Since I was on the road, I had time to spare and things came to my mind that I had never realized before. These were some of my thoughts that day…

Psalms 1:1+2

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

While I don’t exactly remember a specific sermon on this passage, I remember hearing many sermons about verses such as these. Often, the basic message of the sermon went as follows:

--“The first thing we need to notice is that the person God blesses does not associate himself with the wicked. He does not allow others to think that he is one of them.”

So the basic point is to keep your self from spending too much time with sinners.

Yeah, okay.

--“The second thing we need to notice is the law. What is the law? What was the law and what does it mean to us today?”

So the pastor goes on for 20 minutes or so teaching the different aspects of the Old Testament law, the Pentateuch (most likely focusing on the 10 commandments) and what all that would have meant to the various writers of the Psalms, and what it means to us today.

Sounds interesting and certainly is applicable.

--“The last point is that the righteous man meditates on the law day and night.”

The pastor goes on for the next 20 minutes or so explaining what it means to meditate on the law and that we should do it so often that we would call it day and night. I can almost hear him saying,

“Meditate means to study, memorize and reflect on. So you should be studying, memorizing and reflecting on the Word of God. When? Day and night. Night and day! You should study the law virtually all the time because that is what the Bible teaches that a righteous person does. So to be as righteous as you should be, make sure you are spending enough time everyday meditating on the Word of God.”

There is a lot of truth in this, but notice how subtly this form of exegesis turns into teaching duty as the motivation for the Christian life. Of course, the type of pastor I have in mind here would openly say that he is Reformed and that we are saved by faith alone in Christ alone and that nothing we do merits anything for us in terms of our salvation. It is all a gift of grace. But then he turns around and teaches doing one’s duty as Christian motivation, which is right there on the border line of works-based righteousness. I recall a former pastor regularly teaching, “Do what’s right for right’s sake, because it’s the right thing to do.” We are so often simply concerned with teaching salvation by faith alone, which is certainly foundational, that we miss the Bible’s teaching on sanctification by faith. Even our sanctification (becoming progressively more holy after our conversion) is not based on doing our duty, but faith! (II Thessalonians 2:13, for example)

I hope that you have seen what the pastor left out. It seems to me that most of the pastors I have heard have left this out of the Bible. Why is the righteous man avoiding the appearance of the evil of spending too much time with unbelievers? Why is he meditating on the law day and night? Is it from a strong sense of duty? Is he doing right for right’s sake, because it’s the right thing to do? I don’t think so.

What the pastor seems to skip right over is that the righteous man’s delight (delight!) is in the law of the Lord. That is why he avoids the appearance of evil. He has found something far more delightful and satisfying than worldly people and things. That is why the word “but” is there. It is a contrast which shows why he does one thing instead of another. Blessed is the man who doesn’t do these things, but delights in the law of God.

Why does he meditate on it day and night? It’s clearly not from a sense of duty or obligation. It is because it is his delight! He comes to the law with the anticipation of being satisfied by it and finds it to be deeply so. He spends day and night meditating on it and soaking it in because he would rather do that than other things that are calling for his attention.

How could we have missed this? Is it because this is an unusual verse of the Bible in that it promotes delighting in God as a motivation for obedience? A quick survey of the Psalms answers that:

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (16:11)

“Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (32:11)

“Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.” (33:1)

“How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the drink from the river of your delights.” (36:7+8)

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (37:4)

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” (51:12)

“Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” (90:14)

“For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things.” (107:9)

“In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” (119:14-16)

There are plenty more, but I don’t think I need to go on to show that this concept is Biblical. Pervasively Biblical. If you are wondering if this is just an Old Testament thing, it's not. There are many New Testamant verses that speak of joy and delight in God as Christian motivation. Try the entire book of Philippians for a starting point.

I am so thankful that my pursuit of God and personal holiness is laden with promises of joy and satisfaction in Him, and not an issue of simply doing my duty. I can’t do what’s right for right’s sake for very long. I don’t have the discipline. Delighting in God is commanded of me and I am happy to obey.