Psalm 1: God, My Delight

Years ago I began a practice of reading through the psalms and pulling out one key attribute or concept about God from each upon which to meditate. Through difficult circumstances, that off-and-on habit has repeatedly reminded me of the faithfulness and goodness of the Creator. This post is compiled from notes and previous writings from those lessons, and will perhaps be the first of others to follow.

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and it’s leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” (psalm 1:1-3)

It’s fascinating and captivating. The sensation is hard to comprehend. Effortless.

Delight. A heavenly intoxication. A bewitching banquet of the soul. A spontaneous pouring of emotion. Delight is an old friend of love. But, it has none of the labor found in true agape, the kind of labor found at Calvary. No, delight was in the garden when God first gazed on his beloved bride. It was absolutely focused, unimpeded, free and priceless. Love stood still in that glorious moment of communion. God delighted in His beloved, as He still does. Just as I imagine Eden was, delight always captures my attention. Like the first yellow leaves in October, an unexpected smile from Hub or watching my little gifts sleep. Delight is the surprise of life.

When I delight in my husband or my children, I spend time thinking about them. I try to discover their wants and needs. I dream about ways to meet those needs and more. When this unexpected emotion grips me, I enjoy stopping to look at them. I watch them intently, savoring each little quirk. I smile suddenly or laugh out loud at something Little Drummer Boy did last week, or Squiggle or Baby Girl. What would life be like if I allowed God to spark this same kind of delight for Him in my soul?

The psalmist wrote that a happy man is one who delights in the law of the Lord. Law? Delight? It doesn’t seem to match. When I think of law, my mental picture is certainly not effortless. Law has a regimented, unforgiving and burdensome connotation, quite unlike the heavenly intoxication described above. How could someone feel such pleasure and excitement about the law? The haze clears when we listen to the words of Jesus:

“Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest… for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (matthew 11:28-30)

Weary. Heavy-laden. Now, there’s my normal mental picture of law, but Jesus describes his “yoke” otherwise. Rest. A law that makes life less burdensome, that even enhances it. Could this be the delight the psalmist described?

How utterly amazing life would be if I delighted in God’s word like I delight in so many other things. I would rejoice in the simple, but unbelievable presence of the Creator in me. What miracles I miss because I simply don’t stop and pay attention. Because I don’t watch and see who He is and how He makes Himself known in the simple, the commonplace.

Delight is a very basic, un-thought-out emotion. It is childlike. It doesn’t require theology of psychology or any other -ology. It just is. God’s design is that I delight in Him, free from the yoke of the world’s cares and priorities. I’m always convicted by this verse:

“I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve with his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (2 corinthians 11:3)

I don’t want to be deceived out of the Eden of delight God makes available to me by focusing on the wrong things. I fear, as Paul did, that in the hullabaloo of “good things” surrounding me, I have moved away from that simple, pure delight of daily knowing Christ as my Savior. A life based on delighting in the law of the Lord is free–free from personal agenda, free from quests for knowledge, free from jumping through hoops, and all the other well-intentioned, but misguided reasons we do what we do. I am ashamed to say that often my delight in the Lord is squelched by the desire to work, the drive to care for my family, the need to wash dishes, put clothes away, brown hamburger meat, make grocery lists. Sadder still, the delight is squeezed aside by the evening talk show host, the late night blog post or the book I can’t put down (one about holy living or loving God, of course). I often here the Savior whispering behind me, “Haley, Haley, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only a few things are necessary, really only one.” (luke 10:41-42)

In that story, Mary, the sometimes dreamy lover of the Lord had chosen the one thing in the world the Christ deemed as necessary. She was kneeling before Jesus, hanging on His every word. Her mind and body were captivated. She was drunk with the presence of the Lord, intoxicated. Burdens that were once packed meticulously on her back thrown aside, or left in the sink, and the yoke of a friendship embraced. Her eyes sparkled with delight at Her King. Her King. I’m sure she would have gotten around to the dishes and the bread at some point, but she saw the remarkable urgency of a moment not to be missed.

I live in north Mississippi, and we don’t often experience the hurricane force winds and high tides the more well-known coastal areas do. Nor, do we brace for their impact as so many do. But, my husband grew up on the Mississippi Coast and showed me some of it’s wonder. Although dramatically changed by the devastation of Katrina, I was always amazed by the large trees that weathered so many storms. Even in dry weather they stood bent toward the sea. Their trunks changed directions under the pressure of storms and waves, but their roots remained firmly planted in the soil. This miracle is a perfect example of the tree described in psalm 1. A delight in the Lord produces an unwavering stability. Storms of loneliness threaten to break. Waves up despair mount up to flood. Winds of sorrow or confusion permeate the air. But, a life spent in utter amazement and delight of the Master will not be uprooted. For if the storms of water and atmosphere obey Him, surely the floods of heartache and disappointment will too. For those who delight in the emancipating, intoxicating law of the Lord, we may feel the bruise and bend of depression, loneliness or fear, but we will not be broken or uprooted.

“O taste and see that the Lord is good, how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” (psalm 34:8)