Psalm 37
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Psalm 37:1:
Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. |
Envy in the modern world masquerades as virtue and cloaks itself with demands for equality, but the cry of equality is simply a sophistication of the sin of envy. Envy is clearly forbidden in scripture.
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Psalm 37:4:
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” |
Delighting yourself in God is fruit of this relationship you have with God.
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To keep our spiritual affection for Christ from falling away, or being choked off, we must keep fresh in the forefront of our minds, “Jesus is better.” When this flesh we live in is tempted to sin, hold this to be true, “Jesus is better.” With us abiding in Him, and He dwelling within us, we can and will overcome any other competing temptation, desire or love. Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself also in the Lord; and He shall give you the desires of your heart. If we delight ourselves in Him, He becomes the desire of our heart! He alone, our “First Love,” our greatest treasure, our most fervent passion, our soul mate. -George Randall Jr; Rocky Ford Christian Church
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Do formulate your plans by committing them to the Lord. Often our planning and strategizing fails to take into account what God’s intentions might be. King David of Israel, no stranger to severe opposition and formidable challenges, understood this. That is why he could write, “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun” (Psalm 37:3-5). -Robert Tamasy
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Most situations that demand patience aren't in regard to specific promises of God. Although he has told us he will meet all our needs, he hasn't guaranteed that all of our desires, even significant ones, will be satisfied. Here, someone might note the biblical promise that if you "delight yourself in the Lord … he will give you the desires of your heart" (Ps. 37:4). This, however, is not a promise that all of our present desires will be fulfilled the way we want them to be. Sometimes they are, but often God keeps this promise by adjusting our desires to bring them into line with his will. If this is disappointing, keep in mind that even if God does change our desires, they are still our sincere desires! -- How to Be Good in a World Gone Bad by James S. Spiegel © 2004. Published by Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI.
There is satisfaction in serving the Lord Jesus; sweetness in suffering for His Name; blessing in bearing His reproach; pleasure in becoming a pilgrim; delight in doing His bidding. To have every natural delight: face, form, education, erudition, personality, position, achievement, and acclaim of others is to need the discipline of delight, that every gift be acknowledged as from the Giver, that every talent become a sacred trust, that every honor become a humbling of heart before Him, in order that He have all the glory. Then, like Moses of old, with lowly heart and veiled face, we shall walk where he leads, shall be thankful for daily manna, shall endure as seeing Him who is invisible, shall believe Him when every other friend fails. Then comes to pass the word, "Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart" Psalm 37:4). --V. R. Edman, former president of Wheaton College, The Disciplines of Life, 89
Psalm 37:7:
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
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Psalm 37:12-13:
The wicked plotted against the just, and gnashes upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming. |
God is a mocker. God does more than rage against arrogance; he plans on humiliating it.
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Psalm 37:22-24:
For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand. |
The relationship between blessing and inheritance cannot be mistaken. The word of God affirms that the godly stumble. YET, God still holds them by hand...and He STILL delights in them...in US! Notice what it DOESN'T say: that God delights in us only when we do right; only when we've read our Bible faithfully for 14 hours a day, or only when we've prayed for the other 10. No, He loved and saved us EVEN WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS, so what do you think you could ever do to change his mind or opinion about you?
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