Read
Psalm 37:4
Also delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb.
3Trust in the LORD, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
4Also delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5Commit your way to the LORD. Trust also in him, and he will do this:
6he will make your righteousness shine out like light, and your justice as the noon day sun.
Notice
The promise of receiving your heart’s desires draws attention to what comes first: delight in YHWH himself.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What, if anything, helps you take delight in YHWH himself?
Write on thisWhat desire would you name before God as you read this promise within the surrounding words about trust?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
John 15:7If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.Both connect receiving what you desire with a relationship: delighting in the LORD, or remaining in Jesus with his words remaining in you.
Psalm 145:19He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him. He also will hear their cry, and will save them.Both speak of God granting desires, with Psalm 37 naming delight in him and Psalm 145 naming fear of him.
John 15:16You didn’t choose me, but I chose you and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of …The psalm speaks of God granting desires; Jesus speaks of the Father giving what his chosen followers ask in his name.
Isaiah 58:14then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your …Both use the words “delight yourself in the LORD” and join that delight to a promise of what God will give.
1 John 5:14–15This is the boldness which we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us.Both connect desire with a posture toward God: the psalm names delight in him, while John speaks of asking according to his will.
Psalm 21:1–2For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. The king rejoices in your strength, LORD! How greatly he rejoices in your salvation!The king rejoices in the LORD’s strength and salvation, sharing Psalm 37’s emphasis on finding joy in God.
Job 22:26For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and will lift up your face to God.Eliphaz speaks of delight in the Almighty; the psalm also names God as the one in whom to delight.
1 Peter 1:8whom, not having known, you love. In him, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory,Peter describes believers rejoicing in Christ whom they have not seen; the psalm likewise directs joy toward the Lord.
Psalm 104:34Let my meditation be sweet to him. I will rejoice in the LORD.Psalm 104 expresses resolve to rejoice in the LORD, sharing Psalm 37’s focus on God as the source of delight.
Job 27:10Will he delight himself in the Almighty, and call on God at all times?Job asks whether a person will delight in the Almighty; the psalm directs its hearer to delight in the LORD.
Psalm 43:4Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy. I will praise you on the harp, God, my God.Psalm 43 names God as exceeding joy, sharing Psalm 37’s focus on delight in God himself.
Mark 11:23For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he …Both speak of the heart and receiving what is desired or spoken, though Mark emphasizes belief and the psalm delight.
Where this verse fits
Waiting. envy and comparison. praise and worship.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The promise belongs within a life of trusting God and doing good. YHWH himself is the delight named here, and he is the giver.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).