Ps 1:2 THE SAVING LAW

“THE SAVING LAW”

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night.” Ps 1:2

It is hard to imagine that very many people would find studying the Word of God day and night something that makes them happy. This is especially true of youth. Most young people want fun at the expense of morality and common sense. Yet there comes a time when we begin to question what happiness is all about. We begin to ask, “What is life worth?” “Why did God place me here?” “How important are moral values in my life and in my future?” The more we meditate on these things, the more we look for answers.

It is at this point that this Psalm verse becomes very precious. You want answers? The Psalmist has them. He sums them up in one word, the law of the Lord. There is an apparent problem with this answer, however! Can you imagine anyone finding great joy in meditating on the law? It is a sin to lie, to covet, to deceive, to lust. We know that. Think about these things we must, but it does not make us jump up and down with joy. St. Paul reminds us, “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” All the law does is to tell us how guilty we are before the Almighty God, and to condemn us to death: “The soul that sinneth shall die.”

It is true, there are people, like the New Testament Pharisees, who claim to delight in keeping the law. The law they delight in, however, is not the changeless law of God, but a law they create for themselves and then call it God’s. It is a law that focuses on the deed, not the heart. Keeping their law, they feel, makes them better than anyone else. In actual fact, it makes them worse.

If meditating on the law would make us happy, then the word, “law,” must mean more than the 10 Commandments. Here, as in many places in the Psalms, it means the whole Word of God. It is the Word of God that makes us happy and gives us the answers we have been looking for. Why am I here? God’s Word tells me that I am here to grow in faith in my Lord Jesus and to bring the Word of faith to others. What is my life all about? God’s Word explains that He gives me my life as an opportunity to serve Him and my neighbor with the gifts He has given me. What about the future? God promises me that He will direct and keep me as His child unto eternal life. These are wonderful answers found only in the Word of God; the more we meditate on them the happier we will be.