The Psalmists Delight in the Law (Ps. 1, 19, 119)

[Josh]

Psalm 1 (New International Version)

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Note that here the Psalmist says the righteous man's delight is in the Law (Torah) of God. Why would he use such an emotional word for something as rigid as the Law? Why not his delight is in God's goodness, or God's grace, or God's kindness, or God's faithfulness?

Even the longest Psalm, 119, is devoted to the Psalmist's pleasure in the Law. Why are the Psalmists so doggone excited about the Law?

What do you think?

[Josh]

Psalm 19:7-10
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.


Does it seem strange that the Psalmists were so passionate about God’s law? (torah) We can understand how we are to respect and assent in our hearts to laws like “thou shalt not steal or commit adultery”, but is there some way in which such laws could really be spoken of as “delicious or exhilarating”?

Is the satisfaction referring to merely the “pleasures of a good conscience”? But wouldn't this produce pride?

Is it delight in the “study of the law”? It does seem to be to some extent, but couldn’t this lead to pride as well, as in the Pharisees who prided themselves in the study but not the application of the intent of the law? Still, Lewis says, we should let the Psalms show us the good thing of which these bad things are a corruption.

Lewis says that the reason he thinks we should and can take such delight in the the Law follows this chain of logic:

The Law is based on Truth, the very nature of God and the very nature of things, so the Law describes reality, and the degree to which we understand it and live it out is the very same degree to which we are truly living our lives to the fullest. The laws of God are not just arbitrary commands, they are descriptions of the reality He created.

“The [Psalmist’s] delight in the Law is a delight in having touched firmness; like the pedestrian’s delight in feeling the hard road beneath his feet after a false shortcut has long entangled him in muddy fields.” - Lewis

The sweetness of the Law can also be seen in comparison to the practices of the cultures around the ancient Jews: sacred prostitution, sacred sodomy, babies thrown into the fire for Moloch. Compared to these, the Law is like “mountain water, fresh air after a dungeon, like sanity after a nightmare.”*


*Lewis adds ominously that we may yet, in our modern world, see this contrast starkly again.

[Josh]

A thought on Psalm 119, a love song to God's laws:

God's laws are like a fence on the edge of a cliff, allowing his children to play safely with a great view.