In his comments on Psalm 1, Charles Spurgeon says, Psalms 1 and 2 are "the text upon which the whole of the Psalms make up a divine sermon." It seems clear that Psalm 1 serves as the instruction or reading strategy for all the Psalms. But the best part is that it's not a command to obey, but to delight. There's a profound difference.
God's instruction to Joshua in 1:7-8 is similar to Psalm 1 in that Joshua was instructed to meditate on the Law day and night. Kings, too, were instructed to read the Law throughout their lives and be guided and shaped by it (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). Yet, the call to "delight" was not as straightforward as is found in Psalm 1. And it's not God himself this Psalm calls its readers to delight in, but the Law of the Lord. Not even Psalm 111:2 calls for delight in the Law, but in God's past acts! Typically, it's God who delights in His people throughout the Old Testament, but here the people learn they can find delight in the Law.
While much can be said of Psalm 1--its structure, blessing, and so forth--I'm most interested in this call to delight in the Law. How were the people in the time the Psalm was written to understand this instruction, and how do we, who are free from the Law to live in Christ, still find blessing from Psalm 1:2?
Those who first sang or prayed this Psalm could take delight in the Law because having the Law meant they had a divine Law-giver who desired a relationship with them. Without the Law, there was no way to come in contact with God. Unclean things were doomed to destruction. But the Law provided a way for unclean things to become clean, and clean things were then offered a way to be in contact with the Holy. God's blessed provision for this was the Law. To believe this was true and sacrifice an expensive bull demonstrated faith under the Law, that it would do what God promised the Law would do.
Furthermore, the Law offered the people wisdom and guidance. It was a light to their steps (Psalm 119:105), a source of wisdom and understanding (Deuteronomy 6:24-25), and a path to blessing, not burden (Deuteronomy 30:19-20). Following this wisdom brought joy, comfort, and a relationship with God, all of which are blessings.
However, with the Law came an awareness of our greater problem. The Law is not the problem--our sin is the problem, and the Law exposes it in us. So, while the original audience could take delight in God's salvation through faith by trusting God's Law, it was God's means to show his people the need for the Perfect One who follows Psalm 1 perfectly. And even trusting God to reveal this truth from the Law is reason to take delight in the Law, knowing that a loving God keeps His promises, even as far back as Genesis 3:15. The delight flows from relationship, not performance.
A Christian under the New Covenant can take true (and a fuller) delight in the Law of God, as instructed in Psalm 1, through a gospel-shaped, Spirit-empowered understanding of the Law. This view is rooted in union with Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and oriented toward communion with God.
Jesus is the final aim of the Law (Romans 10:4). He fulfilled it perfectly (Matthew 5:17) and bore its curse (Galatians 3:13) on our behalf. Therefore, the Christian no longer relates to the Law as a covenant of works and obedience, but as a pattern for sanctified living fulfilled by our loving Savior. Romans 8:1-4 shows that the righteous requirement of the Law is fulfilled in those who walk according to the Spirit. While our delight still flows from relationship rather than our performance, we also take delight in Jesus' performance under the Law in our place.
Now the Law is written on our heart (Jeremiah 31:33 and Ezekiel 36:26-27). Now we can say with Paul, "I delight in the law of God, in my inner being" (Romans 7:22). But like Paul, we see that the work of God's grace is not complete in us. The Law still exposes our sin, but that is a gift!
Far too often, Christians are taught that the Law is bad. Typically, the Law is associated with legalism. But if God wrote the Law on a redeemed believer's heart, and if Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Law, it's not a bad thing to be feared. We're still called to delight in the Law, but we can only truly do so when we see it as a gift of God and fulfilled by Jesus. We're freed from the curse of the Law to live in the blessings of the Law.
On the opposite side of legalism, Christians run to antoninianism. Thinking they are freed from something bad, they toss out the Law. If a Christian does this, there's no way to live out Psalm 1. One could say they meditate on God's Word, but God's Word does not exclude the Law, and this Psalm. So, what is this Christian to do? The answer is found in Psalm 1.
Psalm 1 because it portrays the Law not as a burden or curse, but as the path to blessing, joy, and stability. The blessed Christian delights in the Law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night. This is not legalistic obligation but relational devotion. Psalm 1 invites the believer to see God's Law as the means to communion with Him, shaping our affections and direction. The imagery of the tree planted by streams of water (v.3) reveals that delighting in the Law is not about earning life, but about being nourished by God's Word. The tree didn't earn its place there. It was planted there, and this is the description, not a prescription.
Psalm 1 confronts both legalism and antinomianism, rebuking the self-righteous who believe they can merit blessings through their works, and it rebukes the lawless who reject God's revealed will. Instead, it calls the Christian to walk in the way of the gospel. Here, delight in the Law flows from a heart transformed by grace. In Christ, the Law is no longer a curse to fear or a system to master, but a revelation of the character of God we love, a path in which we joyfully walk by the Spirit. Psalm 1 presents the redeemed with a picture of true life — anchored in the Word, rooted in grace, and flourishing in communion with God.
