Compounds with two-dimensional layers weakly connected by van der Waals bonding offer routes to enhanced quantum behavior in the bulk as well as in reduced layer materials achieved through exfoliation analogous to graphene. The presence of magnetic ions in the layers can provide new fundamental insights and possible functionality. Consequently the search and investigation of such "beyond graphene" materials has proved a recent focus for research efforts. CrPS₄ is such a semiconducting magnetic van der Waals material, however has undergone only limited experimental investigations to date. Here we present a series of neutron scattering measurements that allow the magnetic structure to be determined and exchange interactions extracted. The results reveal the subtle role of competing interactions, which manifest in a non-trivial magnetic transition and a tunable magnetic structure with small applied fields. Our results in the bulk compound provide intriguiing insights that can be applied to an understanding of the behavior of reduced layer CrPS₄.