Delight Yourself In The Lord Series

“DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD” Psalm 37:4

FBCF – 7/13/25

Jon Daniels

INTRO – Why do we read the Bible?

- Be better person, a better Christian, a better parent, child, spouse

- Find comfort & direction for hard times

- Discover principles that help us have an improved life

- B/c we’re just supposed to

All good answers, but ultimately the Bible is not about us – Not a self-help manual. It’s about God. It may move us to adjust our behavior, but that’s certainly not its main purpose. “First & foremost, [the Bible] shows us who God is…So when we come to the Psalms, we need to be ready to (re)consider who God is & what God does, for the book is about the Lord God.” (Ethan C. Jones, Psalms in an Age of Distraction, p. 48).

Just think about God right now. Meditate on Him. Ponder on what you know about Him right now. What comes to mind? The Psalms tell us of His amazing…

- Sovereignty – Psalm 115:3 – “Our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.”

- Love – Psalm 136:1 – “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His steadfast love endures forever.”

- Mercy & GRACE – Psalm 103:8 – “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

- Power – Psalm 147:5 – “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power.”

- Wisdom – Psalm 104:24 – “O Lord, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all.”

- Truth – Psalm 86:11 – “Teach me your way, Lord, and I will live by your truth.”

- Presence – Psalm 95:2 – “Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!”

- Glory – Psalm 108:5 – “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!”

- Worthiness of worship – Psalm 95:6 – “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” (stand & sing)

o “Worthy of Worship” (8:30)

o “How Great is Our God” (Refuge)

So, who else would you or should you delight yourself in? NO ONE! He alone is worthy! He alone is our great God! In Him alone do we delight!

EXPLANATION – Psalm 37:4 (p. 466)

Psalm 37 was written by David in his later years – v. 25 – “I was young & now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread.” It’s a wisdom Psalm like Ps. 73 last week. Matthew Henry called it “an excellent useful sermon.” (https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Psa/Psa_037.cfm). Paul David Tripp: “…I think that Psalm 37 is a very contemporary Psalm. It is as if it was written with the world that we live in right now, the culture that we live in right now, as its focus. I would title this, ‘What does it look like to trust the Lord in a world gone bad?’” (https://www.paultripp.com/psalms/posts/psalm-37-trusting-god-in-a-world-gone-bad)

Quick outline for Psalm 37:

- A Familiar Pattern – Like Asaph in Ps. 73 last week, David is struggling w/ wicked people prospering, telling his readers to not fret “over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” (v. 7).

- Our Focused Life – Like Asaph, David encourages us to get our focus off the exploits of the evil people & get focused on the truths of God, the blessings of God, & the promises of God.

o V. 3 – “Trust in the Lord…”

o V. 5 – “Commit your way to the Lord…

o V. 7 – “Be still before the Lord…”

o V. 27 – “Turn away from evil & do good…”

o V. 34 – “Wait for the Lord…”

- THE Faithful God – Like Asaph, David points to the faithfulness of God over & over again.

o V. 17 – “…the Lord upholds the righteous.”

o V. 28 – “…[the Lord] will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever.” ETERNAL SECURITY!

o V. 39-40 – The Lord is our stronghold in times of trouble. He will help us, deliver us, & save us!

And that’s where I want to point us today, too! I want to point us to the Lord b/c…

APPLICATION – We must delight ourselves in God & God alone!

There are a lot of things that we can delight in – some good, some not so good – some blatantly & dangerously sinful. But it’s clear in this Psalm & throughout the entire Bible that God’s plan for us is that we delight in Him & Him alone. Here’s how:

ENJOY GOD – Just enjoy Him! Heb word – “delight” – “take exquisite delight in; spend in enjoyment.”