But none of these supply the place of a true Personality outside ourselves, yet infinitely near to us.1 [Note: Phillips Brooks: Memories of his Life, 457.]. ], I see that every good and wise man who is held up to my admiration and imitation in the Bible desired nothing less, and could be satisfied by nothing less, than communion with God. He placed a further limit on Himself when He committed dominion to him. Esther.—Why, that where one bears and does everything because of some great and strong feeling—so that this and that in one’s circumstances don’t signify. Church of England Magazine, xxxi. It is explained in the next clause, "Behold the upright." At some time every man comes to realize the meaning of the life he is living; the secret sins hidden in his heart rise against him. Some have deplored the fact that David in his dealings with the problem of the prosperity of the wicked did not have the advantage of the New Testament teaching regarding the ultimate rewards of the righteous in heaven and the eternal punishment of the wicked following the Final Judgment. Psalm 21:2 You have granted his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Five years before he left us, one who has since his death been much in men’s minds had an illness which was of a very critical character. The text goes on to tell you that if you delight in the Lord, He shall grant you the desires of your heart. No heart ever stood up in a passionate conviction of God’s presence because it had been told that His footprints were marked upon the rocks. 4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Suitable for apparel, scrapbooks, decals, and many other creative uses. Esther.—But that must be the best life, father. Van David.Erger je niet aan slechte mensen, wees niet jaloers op wie kwaad doen, (37:1-40) Psalm 37 is een acrostichon: elk vers of elk paar verzen begint steeds met een volgende letter van het Hebreeuwse alfabet. Fret not thyself, it tendeth only to evil-doing. Study the bible online using commentary on Psalm 37:4 and more! Of course, it must be admitted that Old Testament writers indeed had much less information than Christians about such things; but the psalmist's words as they appear in this chapter are fully adequate. 245. "His faith that infinite love rules the universe, that righteousness is always gain, and that wickedness is always loss is grandly and eternally true."[5]. No wicked man, who by definition is on a collision course with disaster, due to his rebellion against God, can rightfully anticipate anything else, other than destruction. о всяких опасений дает ему право просить. He shall bring it to pass, Heb. '"[1] Also Felix Mendelssohn's "O Rest in the Lord" (in the Oratorio `Elijah') is based upon this chapter. "Yet a little while, and the wicked shall be cut off" (Psalms 37:9), There is very likely a double meaning here. This I know, ‘I sought the Lord, and He heard me’; and I shall go on praying, for I have proved the power of prayer.”. They shall consume; in smoke shall they consume away. The end of that state cannot be otherwise than wretched. (Psalms 37:1). It is surrender. FINAL CONTRAST OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND WICKED. The less, too, shall we dread their loss, the less be at the mercy of their fluctuations. The appearance of this personal testimony by David right in the heart of this psalm is quite unusual. I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God. But those that wait for Jehovah, they shall inherit the land. It could not possibly have been an accident that Jesus used the word "earth." I. I suppose there are many now past the middle age to whom the fact that the chapter of life is closing, that the romance of life is concluding, causes many an ache. If we have God for our “enduring substance,” we can face all varieties of condition, and be calm, saying: Give what Thou wilt, without Thee I am poor. And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.—Psalms 37:4. It is true that prisons, hospitals, and workhouses might disgorge their occupants, poverty might leap into affluence, and diseases and devils be cast out of suffering humanity. ], 1. It is a long while now since this has been plain to me, and since this religious renunciation has been sweet and familiar to me. 2. "`His day,' here is the judgment day. Psalms 37:11, latter clause; Isaiah 58:14; Job 22:26; Job 27:10). This eternal beginning over again is tedious, even to repulsion. The ultimate defeat and overthrow of the wicked envisioned here is not something in which God would intervene and accomplish, but an overthrow already on the way. Mendelssohn’s made-up text is amply true, was true for him in fact as it has been true to so many of us in our varied lives and in the fulfilment of our heart’s desires. You will also desire to be useful. Samuel’s childish treble when he cried, “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth,” was sweeter to Him than the perfect music of a boy’s clear young voice in a choir to its leader. II. As you grow up God will furnish you with opportunities. Starting with no preparatory notions of God, but ready to receive everything He told them, they welcomed each new dispensation only because it told them something more of God; because it enabled them more intelligently, more practically, more literally to converse with Him. But if you delight in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart. That is why life is such weariness! Psalm 37:4. It is the outward distractions of life, the examples of the world, and the irresistible influence exerted upon us by the current of things which make us forget the wisdom we have acquired and the principles we have adopted. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken; And the days of their inheritance shall be forever. In one true sense God set bounds to His power when He created man. God now works through man, and if man will not work the works of God, the works of God remain undone. Psalms 55:2 - Give heed to me and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted, on StudyLight.org p. 305; H. R. Reynolds, Notes of the Christian Life, p. m. Delight thyself in the Lord; in his favour and service, and in the study of his word and promises. Psalm 43:4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my greatest joy. The anthem, “O rest in the Lord,” taken from Mendelssohn’s oratorio “Elijah,” is composed of words which many persons imagine to be a text accurately quoted from the Bible. It is true that this itself is no small ambition, and that it only lands us in another impossibility. need I say, dear Friend! Their delight is not in God, and they would rather flee away from His presence than dwell with Him. Nothing more disastrous could happen than that God should gratify the desires of all men. "[19], According to Maclaren, this naturally forms the end of this psalm right here, "But the poet will not leave the stern words of destruction as his last. The fact that the common and ordinary meaning of the word here is `lamb' strongly favors the American Standard Version rendition. "Jehovah helpeth ... rescueth ... saveth ... because they have taken refuge in him" (Psalms 37:39,40). Bless the Lord , O my soul. There is a passage in Wordsworth’s Prelude which expresses both the craving and its satisfaction, with all the poet’s high seriousness and moving simplicity. F. W. H. Myers, in his poem on St. Paul, so full of the seer’s insight into the history of the soul, has set this truth in impassioned verse. In the kingdom of the resurrection those who have loved hopelessly here will meet with those they loved, and then the loved ones may discover with wonder to whom they owe their place, and who, unseen as an angel, stayed them up when faltering, saved them from falling, by the mighty power of loving, intercessory prayer. ), Sermons Preached in Manchester, ii. It reads, "The enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures." Choose a verse from 'Psalms 37' to begin your 'Verse-by-Verse' study of God's Word using the more than 100 commentaries available on StudyLight.org The desires of thine heart - משאלות mishaloth, the petitions. This interesting acrostic psalm has long been a popular reservoir for the selection of memory verses. His words and deeds become memorable and significant to us. Psalm 145:19 Delighting in the Lord does not mean ceasing to be human, ceasing to have wants and natural lawful desires for success and happiness; it means that all these native and lawful wishes become subordinate to a higher desire still, so that, for its sake, we are willing to forgo all the rest. We like Yates' comment on this: "Here are contrasts of retribution. Желания нашей плоти не всегда совпадают с тем, что желает для нас благодать. If God were to permit for one short hour that all human desires should be satisfied, it is impossible to calculate the dire confusion and pitiless despair that would prevail. Hymns have been written on some of the statements here, notably, the one, "John Wesley translated from the German, `Commit Thou All Thy Griefs,' or (in some hymnals) `Put Thou Thy Trust in God. Faith is an opening of the eyes that we may see. 132.]. There are many beautiful psalms in the Psalter, but I am disposed to think that this psalm is the most beautiful of them all. When they go apart from the world to hold communion with Him, it really is an entrance into their own self-consciousness. By this short and sure method, he exercised himself in the knowledge and love of God, resolving to use his utmost endeavour to live in a continual sense of His Presence, and, if possible, never to forget Him more. Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it. I observe that all their sorrow arose from the loss of God’s presence, all their joy from the possession of it, all their pleasure in expecting heaven from anticipation of it. To desire these things and nothing else is very lamentable. These were both men of strong practical wisdom, and not moody and dreamy recluses. HINT: Since there are such a large number of resources on this page (>10,000 links) you might consider beginning with the more recent commentaries that briefly discuss all 150 Psalms - Paul Apple (750 pages), Thomas Constable, David Guzik, Bob Utley.For more devotional thoughts consider Spurgeon's The Treasury of … And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.". As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together: But the salvation of the righteous is of Jehovah: He is their stronghold in the time of trouble.. Set your mind greatly on this, and God is sure to give you your desire, and the result will be to fill the heart with such sunshine as other desires can never give. ", "The righteous shall inherit the land" (Psalms 37:29). 2. This limitation is necessary to be understood, both from divers places of Scripture, and from the nature of the things; for it is unreasonable to imagine that God would engage himself to grant their sinful and inordinate desires, and it would also be a curse to them to have them granted. In that case one of the first desires must be to be like Him. Psalm 104:34 May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the LORD. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass. References: Psalms 37:4.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. Psalm 37:4 geven zoeken hart. We may be hungry and thirsty, yet our meat and drink will be to do the will of Him who sent us here and to finish His work. "And gnasheth on him with their teeth" (Psalms 37:12). Here again the soul will find its only solace in prayer—in prayer for the object of affection. (8). he shall do, or work, to wit, for thee, or what is fit to be done, or what thou desirest in the sense given on Psalms 37:4. There is the anguish of bereavement and of unrequited love. More resources, better tools and easier navigation Test drive it and tell us about your experience. “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”. But the only certainty which can satisfy the mind and stir the heart is an ethical and a religious, a moral and a spiritual consciousness of God. Trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass. "I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread" (Psalms 37:25). This contrast between the vain and fickle joys with which the world is deluded, and the true repose enjoyed by the godly, ought to be carefully observed; for whether all things smile upon us, or whether the Lord exercise us with adversities, we ought always to hold fast this principle, that as the Lord is the portion of our inheritance, our lot has fallen in pleasant places, (21) as we have seen in Psalms 16:5. Free Psalm 37:4 SVG Cut File $ 0.00. 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