4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4
History and Context:
Psalm 37, like many of the psalms, was written by David, Israel's
greatest king and the Bible proclaimed, man after God's own heart. David
was a man of war and knew how to fight, but even more he knew how to
rely on God. He constantly found himself in hopeless situations in which
he cried out to God and God came through and saved him. He started out
as a shepherd, became the king's musician, and in the end was the King
of Israel. His psalms are honest and speak whatever is on his heart in
that particular situation.The Text:
To truly understand what David is saying here we have to look to the original Hebrew. The way it was translated causes us to think that He is saying ' if we rejoice in the Lord, the Lord will give us what we desire', but that is not what is actually being said. The word 'delight' comes from the Hebrew word anog which means 'to make yourself soft and pliable' and the word 'give' is from the Hebrew word nathan which literally means 'to place, set, or add'. In other words, this verse is actually saying 'Make yourself soft and pliable in the Lord and He will place in you the desires of your heart.'
The Challenge:
Looking into, and applying, the Hebrew meanings behind this verse can make a huge impact in our life. First it gives us the challenge of making ourselves pliable in the hands of the Lord and allowing Him to mold us and form us. Secondly, it helps us to realize that if we have done that, all we have to do is look into our own desires in order to find the will of God for our life. In other words, the challenge is two fold:
1) Make yourself pliable in God's hands and
2) Search your heart's desire and figure out how to apply that to your life and ministry.
The Prayer:
Lord, mold me and make me into the person that you want to be. Place your desires in my heart and direct me in how you want me to use them for your glory. In Jesus' name, Amen!
Great post as always. I have never read this passage or if I did it did not stick out to me like it did tonight. Very thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dan, sometimes doing a simple word study in the original language can produce amazing understanding of a verse that I never had before. This was definitely one of those cases.
ReplyDeleteSo true, I use to do many of them while going to Bible College. It brings a new perspective.
ReplyDelete