DELIGHT IN THE LORD

(Psalm 37:4)

Mike Johnson

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Do you delight in the Lord?  The Psalmist (thought to be David) said this is what we are to do. The word found in the original (anag) carries with it the idea of something delicate or soft that someone would take pleasure in (The Complete Word Study Dictionary). Here it involves the idea of taking joy in God.  The verse says, “delight yourself,” so there is a choice involved and the concept of effort and commitment.

What does it mean today to take delight in something or someone?  It involves the idea of being excited (thrilled, energized) when people are doing what they really want to do or when they are with someone they really love.  What do you take great joy in today?  Many take great pleasure in sports.  They cannot wait for the season to start, and they eagerly anticipate the start of the big game.  When the game is over, they talk about it with others. Indeed, they take great pleasure in sports.  Others may enjoy television, wealth, shopping, eating, or their computer. It is good to have various hobbies and endeavors we enjoy.  However, primarily we should delight in the Lord!  God produces pleasure and happiness.  If we delight in the Lord, the result should be a joyful interest in things of a spiritual nature.

Consider as an example King David. He was indeed a person who took great joy in the Lord for much of his life. Consider the various ways this attitude is seen.

  1. BY DOING GOD’S WILL – David wrote in Psalm 40:8, “I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.” (Note also Pb. 16:8-9.) It would be very difficult for a person to delight in the Lord if he were not actively involved in obeying Him.  People in sin and rebellion often do not even feel comfortable having a conversation about God as sin puts a “cloud” over their relationship with Him.  If we delight in the Lord, we must have an earnest desire to obey Him and be willing to turn away from sin.
  2. BY MEDITATING ON THE SCRIPTURES – David wrote in Psalm 1:1-2, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” How much do we think about the Scriptures? Are our thoughts about the God’s Word just confined to church services? When we “delight in the Lord,” we will think about God’s Law often.
  3. BY BEING ABSORBED IN HIS WORD – David also wrote Psalm 119, which focuses extensively on the Word of God. In verse 16, he stated, “I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.” In verse 47, he said, “And I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love.” (Please also note verses 24, 35, and 77.)  Are our minds more absorbed with politics, sports, and entertainment than with God’s Word?   If we have the same attitude as David, we should be, as we say today, “all about” the Scriptures.
  4. BY PRAYING – In Psalm 55:16-17, He said, “As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.” David prayed regularly. It would seem reasonable that if we are joyful in the Lord, we will pray a lot, i.e., we would want to communicate with our Creator. The New Testament tells us to “pray without ceasing” (I Thess. 5:17) and to “continue steadfastly in prayer” (Rom. 12:12).
  5. BY ASSEMBLING – In Psalm 122:1, David said, “I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’” In Psalm 16:11, he said, “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Note also Is.58:13-14 where the writer called the Sabbath Day a “delight.”)  A person who rejoices in the Lord will assemble for worship.
  6. BY SINGING PRAISES – In Psalm 59:16, he points out, “But I will sing of Your power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; for You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble.” Singing is a command (Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16), but it is an excellent opportunity for worship, and we should be “delighted” to sing praises to God.

We tend to get discouraged. We see moral decay with little interest in spirituality.  Perhaps the stock market is down, the economy is terrible, and we see war and violence worldwide. This bleakness can result in despair, but we should always take pleasure in the Lord regardless of what is happening around us.  Corrie Ten Bloom put it like this.

Look around, you’ll be distressed. 

Look within, you’ll be depressed,

Look to the Lord, you’ll be at rest.

 We should not get angry and envious because of the prosperity of evil people –– instead, we should rejoice in the Lord (Phil. 4:4). Delighting in the Lord is not just something we talk about –– if we are joyful in Him, it will be evident in our attitude and life.