“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.”
So many people have a negative view of God. See Him as an angry, distant deity just waiting for us to mess up so He can bust our chops or zap us w/ a lightning bolt. These feelings surface many times in the wake of disasters & painful experiences.
Floods in TX – Tony Martin article: Our hearts crack open with sorrow, & the question rises like a tide: Where was God? How could He have allowed this?...This flood did not take God by surprise. But let me be clear: Nor was it His delight.
God is not some cruel puppeteer orchestrating tragedy for fun. He is a Father. A Healer. A Savior. His heart breaks with ours. Scripture says He is “near to the brokenhearted & saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
So, if you’re asking today, “Where is God when it hurts?” – I believe He’s closer than you think. He’s in the arms of the parents who are holding each other through the night, unsure how to keep breathing. He’s in the prayers of a community that can’t find the words. He’s in the hands of rescue workers, the voice of a pastor offering comfort, the quiet faith of those who keep trusting even when nothing makes sense.
He’s present. Not always in the way we want, but always in the way we need. (https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/first-person-where-is-god-when-it-hurts/)
These hard questions don’t have easy answers. But as we continue to seek God w/ all our hearts & go hard after Him, longing for His presence in our lives, we find so many reasons to truly enjoy Him. He wants us to enjoy HIM – to delight in HIM!
- Enjoy the beauty of His creation – Mockingbirds singing, majestic bald eagles soaring, rainbow after Refresh, Delta sunsets, stars that He has flung into space, sound of tide washing up on the beach, miracle of birth…ALL of this is HIM at work!
- Enjoy expressing yourself to Him in corporate worship – Sing to Him – Call out to Him – Respond to Him! Enjoy worshiping HIM!
- Enjoy the blessing of the fellowship of God’s people – Enjoy being with HIS people!
- Delight yourself IN HIM! Enjoy HIM!
ELEVATE YOUR WALK WITH HIM – Is your relationship w/ the Lord the top priority of your life?
- V. 5 – “Commit your way to the Lord” – Is that true of you?
- Jesus – “Seek FIRST…” – Is that true of you?
- Psalm 119:10 – “W/ my whole heart I seek you” – Is that true of you?
As you do this, you’ll discover the need to do the next thing:
ELIMINATE SIN QUICKLY – David mentioned envy, anger & wrath. V. 24 – “though [we] fall, [we] shall not be cast headlong for the Lord upholds his hand.” MSG – “[When] he stumbles, he’s not down for long; God has a grip on his hand.” WHEN not IF – David acknowledges that we WILL fall – He knew that firsthand! And when you do sin, DEAL WITH IT! Don’t let it infect you & others, b/c it will! Don’t let it inhibit your prayer life, b/c it will! Don’t let it increase in size & intensity, b/c it will! Confess it (agree w/ God about it) – Repent (Turn away from it & run to Jesus) – Accept the forgiveness that is YOURS right then! Then get up & get back in the game!
- “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, & cost you more than you want to pay.”
EXPECT GOD TO MOVE – “He WILL give you…” – Don’t mistakenly think that this verse means, “If I will go to church more & try to be a better person, then God will give me the desire of my heart - & the desire of my heart is a new bass boat, a bigger house, a boyfriend/girlfriend, a promotion at work, a position on the team.
The key is that, as you delight yourself in Him, He changes your heart. His desires become the desires of your heart. You want what HE wants. You long for what HE longs for. You are passionate about the things that HE is passionate about. We find this same truth in 2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people who are called by name will humble themselves & pray & seek my face & turn from their wicked ways, THEN will I hear from heaven & forgive their sin & heal their land.”
You begin to truly believe Jesus when He says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, & it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)
CONCLUSION – That means that we can expect God to move today. Do you? Are you expecting Him to move today? Not in someone else’s life, but in YOURS/
