The Gospel Fosters Delight in the Law
1 Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, And on His Law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.
Psa 1:1-3 NASB20
The way of the Gospel, where the law is a tutor that leads us to Christ (Galatians 3:24 NASB), as those who are no longer under the law but under grace, we can love the whole law. We float above the law, we have a disconnected perspective now. We are no longer under the law, but under grace (Romans 6:14 NASB). We can love and relish the law which condemns us, because we know that instead of leading us to justice, it leads us to Christ. Rather than closing the door to the law, the Gospel opens the door to a great love for the law, as it reveals all the subtle nuances of God’s rich mercy and lavish grace!
Furthermore, it is only under the rubric of the Gospel that we can freely LOVE the law without obligation or oppression, because we see it from an aesthetic vantage point rather than a moral vantage point. We can enter into a place of repentance without regret (2 Corinthians 7:10), because without pride, but rather as play, we can contemplate the law with delight. Delight is impossible when you see the law as obligatory, as if it was the gun that is held to your head.
It is crazy to ask a person to love the gun that is held to their head. If adherence to the law is our justification, that is what the law is. No one could love that. But under grace, the law holds no power over us, and this becomes a thing of delight, a gift from One who loves us instead of a weapon held by an enemy to control us against our tangentially opposed delight.