4 Reasons to Delight in the Law of the Lord

Psalm 1:2
2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

When many read commandments and the law of God in the Scriptures they quickly characterize God as “bossy” and Christianity as about nothing more than rules that must be followed. “Do this. Don’t do that. Be here. Don’t go there. Read this. Don’t read that. Give this. Dress this way. Don’t dress that way. Talk this way. Don’t talk that way.” And the list could go on and on. Have you ever heard someone characterize Christianity this way?

So how is it that the Psalmist can delight himself in the law of the lord and meditate on it day and night? Who would want to dwell so much on something so burdensome? What the Psalmist has learned is that the law was never meant to be a burden that weighs you down like a heavy backpack leaving you exhausted at the end of each day, rather it is to serve as a lit path to guide you through the dark world we live in as we journey to a greater joy in God.

Here are 4 benefits that God’s law gives us that lead us to delighting in the law of the Lord!

1. God’s Law Reveals Our Sin (Rom 3:20b)

As God holds up the law and reveals His character, the first thing that we see is that we fall woefully short. All of us are flawed and faulty people that come up drastially short of the glory of God (Rom 3:10, 23). I don’t think I need to work too hard to convince you that you are not perfect, but law of God makes this reality abundantly clear. Who among us has not told a lie? Who among us has not coveted something a co-worker has? Who among us has not disrespected our parents?

Now you may say, “How is this a benefit? This just makes me feel bad about myself.” This revelation does hurt, but it is a truth we need. It is this truth, the truth of your sinfulness, that leads you to the cross. It is this truth that reveals your need for a Savior. It is this truth that shows you the beauty, the glory, the majesty of Jesus. So while the truth hurts for a moment, it is replaced with a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory as we set our gaze upon the risen Christ who stood in our place, bearing the wrath of God for our sin so we would not have to. Because the law leads us to the cross, to Jesus Himself, we will delight ourselves in the law of the Lord!

So when you look at commandments in Scripture and recognize how weak you really are, let this thought lead you to delight in your perfect Savior!

2. God’s Law Reveals God Himself (Rom 3:21b)

The commandments we get from God in His Word reveal who God is. Through God’s laws we see that He is the God of justice, love, kindness, He cares for those who are needy and others who are unable to care for themselves. Every command in Scripture tells us a story of who God is. When reading the Bible and coming across a command, ask yourself, “What does this reveal about who God is?”

The law of God gives us the greatest gift we could ever receive, a clearer picture of Him! Here is what Paul says on knowing God…

Philippians 3:8
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Knowing Jesus is of surpassing worth! There is nothing greater or of more value in this world and the law of God, the commandments of Christ, the instruction we read throughout the Scriptures that were inspire by the Holy Spirit provide us an avenue to knowing God better. So again, we will delight ourselves in the Law of the Lord.

3. God’s Law Reveals How to Express our Gratitude towards Him

The pattern we always see laid out in the Scriptures when laws are given out is that we see a redemptive relationship established prior to requirements given. It is this loving relationship established in God’s grace that leads our hearts to be filled with love and gratitude towards God. We should want to live for the God who graciously saved us. We should desire to please Him. But how can we do that? Where should we invest our lives? How should we now live?

God’s law answers those questions for us. While many of the Old Testament laws no longer apply to us today as we are in Christ, there are still so many that do and as we look at them we should see them as outlets for worship, not chains to weigh us down. Therefore we should delight ourselves in the Law of the Lord as it provides direction for us, direction we need since we have been transferred from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son.

4. God’s Law Restrains Sin

God’s law restrains sin. Without law chaos would reign? It is a nice thing to be able to walk around outside without the fear of being assaulted, isn’t it? There is comfort in knowing that those who commit violent crimes will be punished and kept apart from the rest of society, isn’t there?

When God gave the law, its civil use to create a more peaceable life was certainly in view. Therefore let us delight in the law of the Lord as it is a gracious gift meant to give us more peaceable life.

Delighting in the Law of the Lord

So when we see God’s commandments we shouldn’t feel weighed down, we should feel loved. We should feel as if God really cares for us. We should remember that God’s law is a tool for us to be led to Him away from our sin; a tool to know Him more and find greater joy in Him; a tool to give us an outlet for worship; and a tool to give us more peaceable lives that we may live for His glory.

 

To listen to the full sermon this blog was excerpted from CLICK HERE

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