Day and Night

 June 5, 2024

“Blessed is the man whose… delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” —Psalm 1:1-2 

I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t want to have a blessed life. They might not use that terminology, but we all hope for a life of purpose, relative comfort, and safety. For the Christian, this is all found in Jesus Christ. 

I believe however, that sometimes we delude ourselves into thinking we have met the criteria for this blessed life, a criteria highlighted in this first Psalm. I’ve often quoted Psalm 37:4–“Delight yourself in the LORD, trust also in him, and he shall give you the desires of your heart.” It’s pretty straightforward: Delight in God, and your desires will be what he desires, which means he is both willing and able to give fulfill them. 

This first psalm adds a caveat: “On his law he meditates day and night.” I must confess, thought there are times when I meditate on God’s Word, I am far away from doing it day and night. So when I think I’m delighting in God and his Word, this psalm holds a mirror to my heart, showing me how far I have yet to go. 

The way this psalm ends gives me hope. “for the Lord knows the way of the righteous…” If my salvation were dependent on how well I meditate on God’s Word, or how much I delight myself in him, I would be in big trouble, but the Scripture assures me that my righteousness is not my own, but only what I have in Christ—what has been placed in my account by him. He is my righteousness, pure and simple, but the full blessings of salvation are accessible through God’s Word, planted in my heart by faith, and tilled into the soil of my life by prayerful meditation.