The Daily Psalm

The Daily Psalm: Growing in God through Praying the Psalms

The Daily Psalm: A Devotional by Mark D. Roberts, encouraging prayer based on the Psalms. Learn how to pray the Psalms.

January 1, 2006

. . . their delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law they meditate day and night.

Psalm 1:2

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Psalm 1

1   Happy are those
    who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
  or take the path that sinners tread,
    or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2   but their delight is in the law of the LORD,
    and on his law they meditate day and night.
3   They are like trees
    planted by streams of water,
  which yield their fruit in its season,
    and their leaves do not wither.
  In all that they do, they prosper.
4   The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5   Therefore the wicked will not stand in the         judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the         righteous;
6   for the LORD watches over the way of the         righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

Daily Prayer (based on Psalm 1:2)

O Lord, where is my delight? What gives me greatest joy? Where do I focus the eyes of my heart? Truly I delight in many of Your good gifts: the love of family, the beauty of nature, the restfulness of quiet music. Yet do I delight in your law? Do I love Your Word? Do I treasure Your truth? Do I drink joyfully from Your living water? Help me, O God, to delight in Your revelation. May I not only to value Your Word as a source of truth, but also a reason to rejoice. Amen.

Postscript

The Hebrew word translated as "delight" in verse 2 is chefetz. This word is used elsewhere in the Psalms to signify our intentional joy in God's law (for example, Ps 112:1; 119:35). But chefetz also has a very ordinary, human sense, as in Jonathan's taking "delight" in David (1 Sam 19:1) and the king's taking delight in the beauty of women (Esth 2:14). Thus "delight" in verse 2 isn't some purely spiritual feeling, but a heartfelt, fully human joy and yearning for God's law.

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The Scripture text used in The Daily Psalm is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved