Psalms 1:2

Delight. Heb. chepheṣ, a word used of both “pleasure” and “desire.” It appears that Coverdale’s edition of the Bible (16th century) endeavored to combine these two ideas in his translation “longing delight.” The life of the godly man is now described by positives (see v. 1). The true saint says Yes to righteousness. He finds constant pleasure in reflecting on God’s law. His study of God’s Word is habitual and regular; it is not irksome. The psalmist’s personal experience of delight is expressed in Ps. 119:16, 35, 47; etc.

Law. Heb. torah, meaning basically “instruction,” or “precept”; then “command,” or “law,” in the usual sense of the word. In general, torah signifies the written revelation of God’s will.

Meditate. Heb. hagah, literally, “to mutter,” from which have sprung the ideas “to read in an undertone,” “to soliloquize,” “to meditate.” The psalmist’s personal experience in meditation is expressed in Ps. 119:15, 148, though here a synonym of hagah is employed. Compare Moses’ advice to Israel in the second of his farewell addresses (Deut. 6:6–9), and God’s counsel to Joshua at the beginning of his career (Joshua 1:8). With such preoccupation of mind it is no wonder that the godly man experiences the results depicted in Ps. 1:3. There is no better way to fill the hours of a sleepless night than by meditating on God’s Word (see Ps. 17:3; Ps. 42:8; 119:55; etc.).