"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." David penned these words as an old man, having seen the prosperity of the wicked rise like green bay trees and just as swiftly wither away. Psalm 37 is the song of a saint who learned not to fret over evildoers nor to envy the workers of iniquity, for he had tasted a sweeter portion. He had found that the LORD Himself — not the silver and gold of Egypt, not the praise of men, not the fleeting pleasures of sin for a season — was the true and lasting delight of the soul. Here is a man whose heart had been weaned from the world and fixed wholly upon his God.
Mark well what the Holy Ghost is saying. To delight in the LORD is not a casual fondness, not a Sunday-morning sentiment that fades by Monday. It is a deep, settled affection of a sanctified heart — a heart from which the love of the world has been purged by the precious blood of Jesus. The natural man cannot delight in God, for the carnal mind is enmity against God and is not subject to His law. But when the believer comes to Calvary, repents of his sins, and is washed in that crimson fountain, a new birth takes place. Old things pass away; behold, all things become new. And when he presses on to the altar a second time and consecrates his all, God sanctifies him wholly, cleansing the inbred sin, the carnal nature, the very root of worldliness that wars against the Spirit.
O child of God, you cannot delight in the LORD and in the world at the same time. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." The friendship of the world is enmity with God. James does not soften it; he calls the worldly-minded adulterers and adulteresses. Separation is not legalism — it is love. The bride does not flirt with strangers; her eyes are for her Bridegroom alone. The sanctified soul, baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire, finds that the trinkets of this present age have lost their luster. Where once the heart ran after vanity, now it runs after God.
This is the privilege of the Spirit-filled life. When the Holy Ghost comes in His fullness, falling upon the consecrated vessel with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, He floods the soul with the very love of God shed abroad in our hearts. He becomes our delight, our power, our portion. The fear of the LORD, clean and reverent, keeps the heart pure and tender. And the promise follows: "he shall give thee the desires of thine heart" — for when God is your delight, He has already reshaped your desires until they are His own. You no longer crave what the flesh craves; you long for holiness, for souls, for His appearing.
Where, then, is your delight this day? Come to the altar and let the searchlight of God try your heart. If the world has crept in — its fashions, its pleasures, its idols, its lukewarm spirit — repent and forsake it. Plead the blood. Tarry before the LORD until He cleanses you within and fills you with the Holy Ghost. Do not rest in a half-experience. Consecrate every ambition, every affection, every secret thing upon His altar, and let the fire fall.
For the hour is far spent, and the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. He is coming for a people made ready, a glorious church without spot or wrinkle, whose lamps are burning and whose hearts are pure. Will you be found delighting in Him, or distracted by a world that is passing away? Choose this day. Let God be your exceeding great reward, and you shall stand unashamed when the trumpet sounds and the King appears.
"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
— Psalm 37:4