an exposition o f Psalm 27:1-11 pleasure in Him. The heart th a t delights in the Lord finds its truest joy in Him.
Do you have a problem?—T u rn it over to Him. Rest in Him. Then when someone asks, “W hat are you doing about it?”—you can say, “I am doing nothing. It is being done for me by One who is perfectly able—I am resting.” Anything less than th a t is not faith. But remember, this is a desire He must pu t into your heart. “Delight thyself in the Lord.” 5. THIS IS THE BASIS OF EXONERATION. (Verse 6) “And He shall bring forth thy righteousness.” Sit still and He w ill clear the slandered. We may be sure th a t if we look to His honor, He w ill see to ours. Has someone misunderstood you, abused you, misused your name, and falsely accused you? Delight in H im |f-rest in Him, and “He shall bring forth thy righteousness.” There is usually not much use in our seeking to justify ourselves when falsely accused. Someone has said, “Your enemies don’t believe your defense, and your friends don’t require it.” The very effort leads to more anxiety, fretting, and stew ing. Simply rest in H im and “He shall bring forth thy righteousness.” Read it this way—“Delight th y SELF in the Lord.” After all, it is usually our “SELF” th a t has been hurt. “Delight in the Lord.” 6. “THIS IS THE CURE FOR ANGER. (Verse 8) “Cease from anger and forsake w rath.” The psychologist tells us th a t anger is a defense mechanism usually based on the fact th a t we are insecure in the position we have taken. Perhaps the only way to cease from anger is to delight in Him—tu rn your position, and your reputation over to Him. Look a t it this way—“Delight thy self in the Lord.” We can usually see the “self” in the other person —this adds to our own discontent. “He has so much ‘self in him, yet he still gets along so well . . . Why?” Let’s see th a t our own “self” finds its delight in the Lord. “Delight in the Lord.” 7. THIS IS THE KEY TO PATIENCE. (Verse 7) “W ait patiently for Him .” W aiting is part of resting. Roll it on Him—you see, it is God’s affair now. Do not “fret” and “stew,” He is able—just wait. His clock is not neces sarily synchronized w ith ours. Because you do not see w hat He is doing does not necessarily mean th a t He is not working on your behalf. W aiting is proof of faith. Don’t tu rn it over to H im and then get impatient and take it out of His hands and try to do it yourself. Not only wait (we cannot help waiting) bu t “w ait patiently.” I have seen m any im patient waiters. But be cause we do not w ait patiently God sometimes has to wait for us. But listen, you don’t have to w ait to begin to de light in Him. You don’t have to w ait to have every desire fulfilled — “He shall b ring it to pass,” “He worketh.” Notice th a t it is present tense. He starts rig h t now when we roll it on Him. He begins immediately. “Commit,” “rest,” “trust,” “delight”— This isn’t a life of indolence, it is the greatest incentive to agressive, earnest, sincere, ambitious Christian living. To know you shall have every desire of your heart is not only possible, it is His w ill for you. This is joy. This is delight. This is true Christian victory—to walk so close to Him, to be so yielded to Him, th a t He can whisper, “rj his is the way, walk ye in it.” You can be happy and content because your h eart desires only His w ill for you. He who gave you the desire is able to fulfill it. “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
We delight (find our joy) in “things” . . . posses sions, position—and the result is frustration and unhappi ness. “Delight in H im ” means to find your joy in Him. This brings happiness, peace, and contentment. Delight in His “Favor” (Deut. 33:23). Delight in His “W ill” (Eph. 6:6). Delight in His “Service” (Isa. 41:8). Delight in His “Person” (Verse 4). Oh how few of us “Delight in the Lord.” Paul ex pressed it this way, “Christ is all and in a ll” (Col. 3:11). “DELIGHT THYSELF IN THE LORD” “Delight thyself in the Lord” — “Christ is all and in all.” This is the secret of a happy life. The secret of con tentment. Then, I am so close to H im th a t I w ant only His w ill for me. He puts the desire in my h eart for the things th a t are for my good and His glory. Then I can have everything my heart desires. You w an t proof? (Verse 23) “The steps of a good m an are ordered by the Lord and he delighteth in His way.” “Delight in the Lord.” 1. THIS IS A CURE FOR FRETTING. (Verse 1) “F ret not.” To fret is to worry, to fume, to stew. “F ret not” means Don’t get heated up about it.” Now why do we stew and fret? Usually because we w ant something we do not have and others do have. But look a t it this way. Spurgeon said, “Who envies the trapped bullock the rib bons and garlands which decorate him as he is led to the slaughter.” T h a t is why God says, “F ret not because of evil doers.” Don’t stew because they have more than you do . . . don’t envy them. They are like the fa t bullock going to the slaughter. The cure for fretting is to be con tent. How?—Delight in the Lord. Don’t desire what others have . . . you have HIM . “Delight thyself in the Lord.” “Delight in the Lord.” 2. THIS IS THE SECRET OF TRUST. (Verse 3) “T rust in the Lord.” The farm er sows and cultivates, then leaves the harvest to God. W hat more can he do? He can’t send sunshine and rain. Likewise, we must leave the re sults to God. I can trust completely in Him if I desire only what He wills. “Delight in THE LORD.” “Delight in the Lord.” 3. THIS IS THE RESULT OF SURRENDER. (Verse 5) “Commit thy way unto the Lord and he shall bring it to pass.” “Commit” means to roll your anxiety on Him. Say “if it is not His w ill I do not w an t it.” “Delight in the Lord.” W hat you w ant to do and cannot do, w hat you want to have and cannot have, or what you w an t to be and can not be, becomes a burden and leads to frustration and bitterness. Roll it over on Him—tu rn your affairs over to God. When I completely surrender myself to Him, then His w ill becomes my only desire, and so I can have every desire of my heart. “Delight in the Lord.” 4. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF PEACE. (Verse 7) “Rest in the Lord.” Rest means to “hold still.” When we rest in H im we are not fretting, we are not disturbed —we are content. Delight in His “Presence,” (fellowship) g A p r a should be occupied w ith Him.
MAY, 1961
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