Psalms 1:2

1:2:

“His delight is in the law of the Lord…”:
• He is not under the law as a curse or condemnation, but he is in it, and he delights to be in it as his rule of life; he delights, moreover, to meditate in it, to read it by day, and think upon it by night. In the day of his prosperity he sings Psalms out of the Word of God, and in the night of his affliction he comforts himself with promises out of the same book. “The law of the Lord” is the daily bread of the true believer. In David’s day… they had scarcely anything save the first five books of Moses! How much more, then, should we prize the whole written Word which it is our privilege to have in all our houses! But alas! What ill treatment is given to this angel from heaven! How few of us can lay claim to the benediction of the text! Perhaps some of you can claim a sort of negative purity, because you do not walk in the way of the ungodly; but let me ask you – is your delight in the law of God? Do you study God’s word? Do you make it the man of your right hand – your best companion and hourly guide? If not, this blessing belongs not to you. CHS
• In the second verse, the Psalmist does not simply pronounce those happy who fear God, as in other places, but designates godliness by the study of the law, teaching us that God is only rightly served when His law is obeyed. It is not left to every man to frame a system of religion according to his own judgment, but the standard of godliness is to be taken from the Word of God. Of the law: it ought not to be understood as if the other parts of Scripture should be excluded, but rather, since the whole of scripture is nothing else than an exposition of the law, under it as the head is comprehended the whole body. (The 1599 GB footnotes law with “in the holy Scriptures”.) Delighting: from this characterization we may learn that forced or servile obedience is not at all acceptable to God, and that those only are worthy students of the law who come to it with a cheerful mind, and are so delighted in its instructions, as to account nothing more desirable or delicious than to make progress therein. From this love of the law proceeds constant meditation upon it, which the prophet mentions in the last clause of the verse; for all who are truly actuated by love to the law must feel pleasure in the diligent study of it. JC
• This is that which keeps him out of the way of the ungodly and fortifies him against their temptations. By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. Ps. 17:4. We may judge of our spiritual state by asking, “What is the law of God to us? What account do we make of it? What place has it in us?” His delight is in it: He delights in it, though it be a law, a yoke, because it is the law of God, which is holy, just, and good, which he freely consents to, and so delights in, after the inner man, Rom. 7:16, 22. All those that are well pleased that there is a God must be well pleased that there is a bible, a revelation of God, of His will, and the only way to happiness in Him. In that law does he meditate day and night: What we love we love to think of. To meditate on God’s word is to discourse with ourselves concerning the great things contained in it, with a close application of mind, a fixedness of thought, till we be suitably affected with those things and experience the savor and power of them in our hearts. This we must do day and night, we must have a constant habitual regard to the Word of God as the rule of our actions and the spring of our comforts, and we must have it in our thoughts accordingly, upon every occasion that occurs, whether night or day. MH
• Thou shalt bend all thy thoughts that thou mayest know God truly and perfectly, and so shalt thou also love Him. We can love God only so far as we know Him… this is the impelling, the efficient, and final cause of obedience to all other commandments of God. Z. Ursinus

Personal Summary:

How much time do we actually spend in the word? Not just reading it either but actively studying it, meditating on it, and seeking it as a guide for our lives to the glory of God. How much do we allow other things to distract us from this duty (tv, internet, music, etc.)? Yet if we read His word and meditate on it and apply it in our lives we will not only understand and perform it all the better but we will become all the more in love with it… with God Himself! How often do we feel a sense of drudgery when we are reading the bible as if it is done only because we know it is a duty? Yet the more we read the more we love what we are reading. Soon we are eager to read more and to learn more and to understand and apply it.
Pr 4:7, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” We gain the wisdom two ways. 1) Jas 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and reproacheth not; and it shall be given him.” First we humbly come to God and ask Him to give us the wisdom through His word. We don’t do it for our benefit, although that is undoubtedly a benefit to us, we do it for the glory of God and to serve Him better in our daily walk. 2) We study His word. We cannot apply what we do not know. Thus we must study diligently and contemplate with regularity the things of God.
What we read cannot be cumbersome to us. Even when we are convicted by what we read, we read it to the betterment of our souls and thus we should delight in it. The Word should leave a sweet taste in our mouth. It should be one of the chief delights of our lives to have it. The bible, in the scheme of history, is a relatively new thing. So many have gone before us that didn’t have the benefit of the bible, some only in part, and some not at all. We have such a wonderful gift from God in that we are here to read and appreciate and apply in our lives what so many other saints before us have not had… the revealed Word of God! This is the rule of our faith given to us by God and through obedience learned therein we please Him, it is the only option for proper service to our Lord. This is what keeps us out of the seat of the scorners and on the path of righteousness. This is what sparks our joy in the Lord and in His law. Praise God that we are not left to do this on our own!