Delight

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” –Psalm 1: 1-2 (ESV).  “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37:3-4 (ESV).

“Delight”…what a beautiful word.  As a noun it means a high degree of gratification, extreme satisfaction, something that gives great pleasure (also the power of affording pleasure, joy).  From the Middle English deliten  and the Old French deliter, delectare, as a verb, delight can mean “to allure,to take great pleasure in, to give joy or satisfaction.”  As I thought of the word delight, my mind had a pleasant journey back a number of years recalling a visit to the Shaker Village in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, where we heard those dressed as the eighteenth and nineteenth century Shakers perform in their “delightful” religious dance and sing the words attributed to Joseph Brackett (1797-1882) from the Shaker dance song, “Simple Gifts.”  You might remember the words, too, from Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” of 1944.  Once you think about the song (and if you know the words) it is hard not to sing it over and over in your mind:

            “’Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free

            ‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

             And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

            ‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.”

I could see those Shaker performers taking delight both in the words and music and the movement of the dance they performed for us at the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill.  I get great delight now in visits from my great grandchildren.  We like to go exploring in my back yard.  One day Jake and Cydni were here and by digging down a little in soft dirt, we found a beautiful smooth stone.  We talked about its beauty, its smoothness and color, and, best of all that God Who created our wonderful world formed the earth and its contents, even stones that water and the elements have made smooth over a long time.  The stone found a favored spot at one of my flower beds.  Now when any of the great grandchildren come, and especially the two who found the stone, they take great delight in seeing the stone again and remembering how they discovered it. 

My mind turned not only to the “Simple Gifts” song and its invitation to  “the valley of love and delight,”  but I recalled and meditated upon Psalm 1 which is itself a song and the gateway (or prelude, if you want to think of it in musical terms) to the entire book of Psalms, inviting us into the delights and fellowship of the Lord God:  “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.”  (Psalm 1:1-2, ESV).  Come!  Early every morning and throughout each day, take delight in the Lord:  “”Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:3-4, ESV).