FBC Morning Light - February 21, 2023

Well, a good Tuesday morning to you. Today we're in Psalm 37, also reading in the book of Leviticus and the

Gospel of Mark, but I want to focus on a verse in Psalm 37. One of the dangers of,

I guess I could say Bible interpretation, is that we take a verse and lift it out of context, or take a part of a verse and lift it out of context and claim for ourselves something that this verse says, and distort the intention of the verse and the meaning of the verse.

Why? Because what we read, it makes us feel good, it's a real comfort or something that's real positive, and we want this to be true.

There's a verse like this in the 37th Psalm, and specifically verse 4. The last part of verse 4 is one that is like this.

It's taken out of context by people, and they claim it in a way that is not intended to be claimed.

It says this, the last part of the verse, "...he shall give you the desires of your heart."

Speaking of the Lord, the Lord shall give you the desires of your heart. Have you ever heard this explained in such a way that it says, look, just ask the

Lord to give you what you want, and he will give you what you want, in essence. He will give you the desires of your heart.

Just ask him. You want it? Name it, claim it, it's yours. But listen, you've got to get that in context.

The first part of the verse is incredibly important. Yes, I know, those who claim the second part for themselves, they affirm the first part of the verse, but it's pretty well glossed over.

What's the first part of the verse? "...delight yourself also in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Here's the point of this verse. The point of this verse isn't like, okay,

I desire to have a new 2024 hybrid vehicle as soon as it comes off the assembly line.

That's the desire of my heart. I really want one of these things. So, God, I love you,

I delight in you, this is what I want, give it to me. No, no, no.

If you delight yourself in the Lord, then any desire of your heart that you would have is going to be submissive to the

Lord and his will. Your delights are going to be shaped by the Lord and his character and who he is.

Any desire that you may have, that I may have, that is in the first place is contradictory to the

Word of God. It doesn't matter what you say about whether you love the Lord or not, it's not something you can claim that God is going to give you.

If the desire of your heart may not fly directly against the moral law of God or the character of God directly, but it's something that is not really good for you in the long run, and maybe in the short run.

If something's not really good for your soul, if it's not good for your well -being, if it's not good for your relationships with your family, then it's a desire you really shouldn't have.

It's a desire that needs to be submitted to what God deems is best for you.

The first part of the verse is what should be emphasized. Delight yourself in the Lord. Delight yourself in his

Word, in what he defines as good and virtuous.

In the New Testament we're told to set our mind on things above, our affections on things above.

If our affections are set on things above, then the desires of our heart are going to be in line with those affections.

We're told to think on things that are true and just and noble and pure and lovely and things that are of good report and virtuous and praiseworthy.

You're thinking on these things, and they're going to shape the desires of your heart. The first half of the verse is a prerequisite, if you will, to the second half of the verse.

You delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires that you ought to have and the desires that he wants to fulfill.

The way to handle this verse and interpret this verse is to first of all take our desires to the

Lord and ask, Lord, is this a desire that you would want me to have?

Is this a desire that would please you if it were to be fulfilled? Get a sense of an answer to that question, and then proceed from there.

If it's not, chuck it. If it's not, reshape it, refashion it, submit it to the

Lord, his character, his will, his delight, his desires, his demands.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and then he will give you the desires of your heart.

Our Father and our God, I pray that we would have desires that are pleasing to you, and that all of the desires of our heart would be submissive to who you are and what you would desire for us.

Then we shall be joyful in that which you give. So, Lord, I pray, may we delight in you, and we may have the right desires.

We ask in Jesus' name. Have a good rest of your Tuesday. May the