Word Studies - Part 3

Psalm 37:4 – Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart. (NKJV)


Strong’s # 3820 leb (labe)


Lexicons/Bible Dictionaries

Strong’s – variation of the word lebab which means heart, leb refers to the feelings, the will, and the intellect

Vine’s – refers to inner man, the soul, the seat of desire or inclination, the seat of emotions, the seat of wisdom and knowledge, seat of conscience and moral character

Word Study (OT) – may refer to the physical human heart, but usually refers to the seat of one’s inner nature, or a specific aspect of the personality, refers to the mind, the will, the emotions

Brown-Driver-Briggs – inner man, mind, will, heart, comprehending mind affections, and will with the occasional emphasis of one over the other

NIV Hebrew – heart, the inner person, self, the seat of thought and emotion: conscience, courage, mind, understanding

NASB Hebrew – inner man, mind, will

NIDOTTE – heart, center of moral deliberation and decision making


Translations

KJV – Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

NASB95 – Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.

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

NLT – Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

AMP – Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.

NIV – Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

MSG – Keep company with God, get in on the best.

NRSV – Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Darby – and delight thyself in Jehovah, and he will give thee the desires of thy heart.

Young’s – And delight thyself on Jehovah, And He giveth to thee the petitions of thy heart


Commentaries

Spurgeon – It is safe to give those who delight in the Lord that which their hearts desire as they will ask for that which pleases God as their will is willingly laid down in order to seek God’s will. In this passage the author is not referring to one’s casual desires, but rather to the deepest, innermost desires.

Clarke – A godly person only desires that which can be formed into a prayer to God, therefore one who is godly would not desire that which cannot be articulated to God.

McGee – This verse was a promise for the nation of Israel, and also a promise for believers today as the Lord continues to pour out spiritual blessings upon His people.

Expositors – When one delights oneself in the Lord there is a spirit of submission and surrender to the Lord where one learns to enjoy the blessings of the Lord that are both material, and the contentment that comes from a right relationship with God.

Knight – This teaching Psalm instructs that one should not fret about the things of life, rather one should make delighting oneself in the Lord the first priority in life and trust the Lord to care for the details of life.

Wilcock – One must not be concerned about or participate in the plans of the wicked, rather one must trust in the Lord, confident that He will overcome all plans of the wicked and care for His children, providing both their needs and the hearts desires.

Broyles – One must not be envious of the apparent success of the wicked, rather one should continue to look to the Lord for success and provision.

Boice – Before one knows the Lord one resists any relationship with Him believing that God is not desirable. However, once one knows God through salvation one realizes that God is holy, sovereign, and awesome, not to be taken lightly, and as one grows in this relationship one realizes that trust in God translates into delight. When one delights in the Lord one does receive the desires of one’s heart as one receives God.

Word Application

The delight of one’s heart in this passage does not refer to one’s fantasies of being a millionaire, nor does it refer to the dream of instantly having a completely different life, in a different place, and therefore being instantly blissfully happy. The preface for receiving the desires of one’s heart is to first delight one’s self in the Lord.
In the course of delighting one’s self in the Lord, one will find that the desires of one’s heart will be adjusted to become increasingly consistent with God’s will. That is to say that rather than seeking material possessions, a person will want what God has revealed to be His will for them. As one delights in the Lord His desires for one’s life become the first priority. Therefore, as one delights in the Lord and becomes closer to the Lord in that relationship there will be things that cannot be articulated in prayer as they are either contrary to the Lord’s revealed will, is contrary to what is acceptable in scripture, or one prays and feels the Lord instructing that one should not pray for that.
As one grows in one’s relationship with the Lord, one grows in one’s faith, trust, and understanding of the Lord, which translates into one learning to delight in the Lord. As one grows in this delight of the Lord one begins to desire chiefly that which is the Lord’s will for them, and when one prays within the will of the Lord, one receives abundant answers to prayer, and therefore the desires of one’s heart. The Lord has not stopped caring for the needs of His children, or the details of their life, and the Lord has not stopped bestowing generous gifts upon His children. Rather, His children have forgotten how to ask for these gifts as their first delight is not always in the Lord.