Psalm 37:1-11
Three Study Bibles tell me that Psalm 37 is neither a praise Psalm nor a lament, but rather falls under the category of wisdom literature, like we will see later in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. In addition one of these Study Bibles noted that the heart of the Psalm is the first 11 verses (today’s reading) and that the rest of the Psalm simply expands on these verses.
So today (and for the rest of this Psalm) the contrast between the wicked and the righteous – shades of Job!! I have often heard verse 4 quoted: Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. I think the key to understanding this verse is in knowing what is meant by “the desires of your heart”. It’s not about what we “want”, that we get everything we want. Often what we want is not what we need or what God wants for us. Occasionally when I hear this verse quoted I wonder if the speaker is following one of those “health and wealth” Bible preachers. God built us, each in His own fashion, and He is the one who built our hearts and gave us His desires for us, meant to be “the desires of our heart”. What we “want”, ideally, should be what God wants for us. Very simply, always, everywhere, everything, “Your will be done”.
Thank you, Fred. In my thinking, it is key that we “delight in the Lord”. When we are focused on Him, then the desires of our heart are in line with His will.