Psalm 37:1-11, Delighting in the LORD (1)

In our church fellowship this summer we have been looking at several Psalms from the “first book of the Psalms” (Ps. 1-41).  The last one was Psalm 37 and yesterday I spent the third Sunday in that wonderful Psalm.  Specifically, we meditated on 37:4: Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

As you may know, Psalm 37 is a hymn of “faith.”  In 37:1-11 we are provided with several phrases that describe what it means to walk in faith.

v3: Trust in the LORD.

v4: Delight yourself also in the LORD.

v5: Commit your way to the LORD.

v7: Rest in the LORD.

v9: Wait on the LORD.

Verse 4 presents a simple but interesting form of Hebrew poetry.  The form is

A-B, B-C.

A. Delight yourself also		B. in the LORD
B. And He shall give you		C. the desires of your heart

“A” is where you start.  “B” refers to the LORD.  “C” is where you end up.  The true need of your heart is satisfied.  But you did not set out to have your needs met.  You set out to delight yourself in the LORD. 

It is this “satisfaction” of the heart that we want to think about for the next few posts.  We will consider 3 questions:

·       What does our heart desire?

·       How can we satisfy our hearts?

·       Does the New Testament teach the same as the Old Testament?

I.                  What does our heart desire?

People are made in the image of the Creator.  From the story of Creation in Genesis 1-2 we can see that God’s intent was to dwell with mankind.  In the closing chapters of the Bible (Rev. 21-22) we see the same thing: the “heaven” that God has made is designed for God to dwell with men.  This was God’s plan and desire, and He made man in such a way as to be able to enjoy this “fellowship.”  Again, we have been created in His image.  We can understand God when He speaks.  We speak the same language.  We share many of His attributes, such as love and anger and mercy and faithfulness.  And while we are neither omniscient, omnipotent nor omnipresent, we can speak of God in those terms because we have knowledge, strength and presence. 

When we ask, “what does our heart desire,” the answer is that our heart desires fellowship with our Creator.  That is the way we were created.  But who do you know that thinks like that?  There are many dissatisfied people in this world, people who are frustrated with life, who cannot tell you why they are alive and what it is that they are doing with their lives.  I suppose that explains the popularity of “evolution.”  Important questions like “who am I” and “why am I here” and “where do I go when I die” are unanswerable and irrelevant to the evolutionist.  Therefore, when that person experiences “dissatisfaction of the heart” they don’t go looking for remedies.  Instead of a remedy they settle for a result, like suicide, or murder, or becoming “inventors of evil things” (something kinkier or more extreme or weirder).  As Solomon said, and he should know: “Truly, this only I have found: that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes” (Eccl. 7:29).

The Bible has more to say about what my heart desires.