"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 act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday."
INTRODUCTION TO THE SUMMER SERIES
This summer we will examine some biblical disciplines and traits put forth in Scripture to help a person succeed in life. Of course, I am defining success as it is described in Joshua 1.7-8: Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success. Getting one’s bearings in life is not an easy thing to do. There are many voices competing for your attention. If one wishes to please God he or she must do so in defiance of the popular “wisdom” of the age. I find Paul’s instruction to the church at Corinth is fitting advice for any generation: “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God (2 Corinthians 6.17- 7.1; cp. 2 Timothy 2.4-7). While everyone has a limited amount of time and resources with which he or she is able to tackle life’s goals, every Christian has unlimited access to the power of God. Of course, more is accomplished by those who plan their work and are then determined to work at their plan than by those who just take things as they come.
Over the course of the next couple of months I will examine some Christian disciplines that build godly character: such as the importance of deciding what kind of person you want to be by making life resolutions that are biblically sound (Daniel 1.8; Exodus 33.11b). I will examine what the Bible has to say about critical thinking (Acts 17.11) and how to develop a Christian worldview through familiarity with the Word of God (Psalm 1; 119.9-11; 2 Timothy 2.15; 3.16). I will consider the importance of living a balanced life by recognizing the legitimate needs of your heart, mind and body (1 Timothy 1.7b-8; cp. Proverbs 4.23): early investments in these things reap benefits that last a lifetime. I will emphasize the importance of pacing yourself for the lifelong race (Acts 26.14b; Ecclesiastes 11.9-12.8). I will probe how to assess one’s resources and the advantages of developing a generous spirit (Matthew 25.45). I hope to examine the positive consequences of keeping company with men and women of faith, courage and honor (such as Jonathan and David; Abigail, Hannah and Esther). I look to emphasize the importance of recognizing wise counsel when you hear it. How does a Christian keep faith with the Word of God when there are few others who will stand with him? (See 2 Timothy 2.22; cp. Daniel 3.16-18; 1 Corinthians 15.33; 2 Corinthians 6.17-18.) I will help you discover how to differentiate between things of consequence and those that are frivolous (2 Timothy 4.10). Foremost of all, we will examine what it means to delight oneself in the Lord. The chief end of mankind is to know the Lord and to delight in him (Psalm 37.4-6).
INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS
There is a myth abroad that the best things in life come to a person by way of natural selection (birth). For example, it is often said that leaders are born and not made. This is not true. Leaders are made. Similarly, character, which is the most important part of a person’s life, is formed most effectively by those who resolve to do what is right. It does not come easily nor is it something you have forever once you possess it. Rather, it has to be worked at to be maintained. If you have good looks, physical prowess, some native abilities, all the better, but what matters most in life is the formation of your character. It is essential to know right from wrong and have the courage to do what is good even when one is tempted to do what is wrong. Being smart is helpful, but being good is profitable in everything. And it is always better to be good than to be clever. The earlier one sets his bearings in life the less likely he is to stray off course. As a teenager Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank (Daniel 1.8). It is important to focus one’s affections on matters of eternal value: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12.1-2; cp. Micah 7.7).
Understanding right from wrong can be difficult in a culture that claims right and wrong has no grounding in absolute truth. The assumption that truth is relative is the philosophical basis upon which this society labels as good what the Bible identifies as evil (e.g., defiance of authority, tolerance of excessive alcoholic consumption, homosexuality and abortion), while the things that the Bible declares to be good are often declared to be evil or prudish (e.g., sexual purity, personal piety, abstinence). Scripture reminds us: Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right! (Isaiah 5.20-23). The Bible teaches us that present actions have future consequences. Ultimately, there is more to this life than first meets the eye: Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4.16b-18; cp. 1 Corinthians 15.12-19). However, future judgment does not negate the more immediate consequences of one’s actions (Numbers 13.25-33). If then there are both temporal and eternal consequences for one’s actions, it is the wise person who recognizes the truth about these things and acts accordingly.
While there are many things that are profitable for the Christian to know, what is primary is a desire to know and please God. This is the theme of Psalm 37 and it is central theme of Scripture (cp. Isaiah 55.6-7; 2 Corinthians 7.1). There is, as it were, a kind of God-focused ‘hedonism’ being promoted by Scripture. God desires for his children to be deliriously happy in himself. It is the first order of business for the believer to find his complete contentment in knowing and delighting in God’s goodness and love. Each of the Beatitudes of Matthew 5 is introduced with the Greek word makarios (blessed or transcendently happy). There is nothing that is of more importance than this. Recall Jeremiah 9.23-24, Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts, boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight declares the LORD.”
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 37
Psalm 37 is a wisdom psalm, a collection of proverbs in acrostic arrangement (that is, each segment begins with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet). Its primary theme is that of godly faithfulness in contrast to the unfaithfulness of wicked people. The psalm may be outlined in the following manner: delighting oneself in the Lord (37.1-6); being content, knowing that the Lord will deal justly with the wicked (37.7-11); the wicked and the righteous contrasted (37.12-22); the Lord’s upholding of the way of the righteous (37.23-33); and, finally, the Lord’s deliverance of the righteous (37.34-40). This psalm, credited to David, was written late in his life (v. 25) and thus has the advantage of a godly man’s lifelong reflections. It is an instructional and informative psalm.
THE GREATEST DELIGHT (PS 37.4-6)
Most people are naturally disposed to be self-centered. Unselfishness is generally a learned behavior. Selfish people often attain material success at the expense of others, but the psalmist counsels the believer to trust in the Lord and to do what is right and good. Regardless of how well-off the wicked may appear for the moment, their “success” is fleeting and they will soon be cutoff from everything they value, because what they consider most important is itself transitory. Those who have a hope only in this life cannot hope to succeed (Job 27.8-12) because everything to which they aspire is itself just a passing fad. (Shopping malls, for instance, come and go!) Isaiah wrote: A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever (Isaiah 40.6-8). The wicked man will destroy himself with bad behavior, anger and selfish emotions, but the godly person trusts in the Lord and submits to His divine will for his or her life: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths (Proverbs 3.5-6; cp. Isaiah 26.3-4).
The commitment that pleases the Lord stems from the delight in submitting to his will, even when to do so requires a profound act of faith. When one does unreservedly submit to the Lord, then no matter how stressful your present circumstances may be God will in due course vindicate your cause. The apostle Peter writes: Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you (1 Peter 5.6-7). It is just this attitude of surrender to God that brings about the believer’s greatest joy. His focus has turned from himself to God; his greatest delight is in the glory of God. Only when his Lord and Savior is most glorified is he happiest. The Christian’s greatest pleasure is that God is most glorified in all that he does. This is the priority modeled for us in Jesus’ life (cp. John 17.4) and he instructed his disciples to put God’s kingdom first: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6.33). The psalmist Asaph writes: Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire beside you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Psalm 73.25-26). The heart of every believer should be similarly filled with love and adoration for God.
It is not surprising that we find Paul frequently interrupting the discourse of his letters with doxologies. These exclamations of praise are the overflow of a heart saturated with praise for God: Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen (Ephesians 3.20-21; cp. Romans 11.33-36; 1 Thessalonians 3.11-13). The contemplative reader will commit his or her life unreservedly to the Lord. Such a commitment will include trusting the providence of God and reliance upon the promises of his word. The believer patiently waits on the Lord to act because he or she knows the truth of 1 Thessalonians 5.25: He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. Finally, I like the poetic rendering of the NIV translation of Psalm 37.5-6: 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.
