No more worlds to conquer

 

Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: “I wish I had never been born".Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: “The worm, the canker and grief are mine alone.” Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of wealth. When dying, he said “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.”

Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both position and fame. He wrote: “Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.” Alexander the Great had great Military Glory, he conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, because he said, “There are no more worlds to conquer.”

In Psalm 37 David a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22) is old (Ps 37:25) . Thus, he speaks wise words of a person who has spent much of his life dwelling in the presence of God. He says “delight yourself also in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4). To delight is to take great pleasure in something or someone. It has the idea of a consuming passion that controls your life.

Everyone delights in something. People delight in position or fame or power or career or a person. If we delight in a song we want to listen to it again and again. If we delight in a person, we desire to be in their presence and to hear their voice all the time. Every attribute, word, or deed of that person becomes delightful to us. For a young couple so much in love their greatest desire is to be in each other's company.

When something delights us, we are preoccupied with it. In Psalm 1:1-3 we read that the "blessed" man is the one whose delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night. How does he show he truly delights in the word? He spends time with (in) the word; he meditates on it day and night. If you delight in something or someone then your actions, your priorities and your passions will validate your claim.

In Psalm 37, a believer is commanded to have a delightful relationship with God. Christianity should be a joyous thing, a delight. People should not become Christians merely to merit Heaven or to escape Hell. Those who love God with all their hearts, find that his ways are ways of pleasantness and all his paths are peace (Prov. 3:16). The Christian’s religion is a matter of delight.

David's advice is “don’t spend your days fretting because of what seems to be an unfair prosperity of the wicked. Instead delight in God”. So what is there in God to delight in? Delight yourself in his glorious character. Every attribute of God should be a ray of delight. He is wise, almighty, faithful, merciful, unchanging and everlasting. His attributes cover up all your weakness.

Delight yourself in his precious promises. They are intended to assure you of all necessary supplies. Delight yourself in his special providence. A providence that marks your steps, directs your paths, limits your troubles, bounds the rage of your enemies and causes all things work together for your good. God in his providence superintends all your affairs, even the most minute so that nothing can happen to you by 'chance', or inadvertently do you harm!

Delight yourself in all the benefits that you currently enjoy as his child. In Psalm 103:1-5 David wrote “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being praise his holy name. ..and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your sins  and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit  and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good  things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Delight yourself in all that God has done for you in the past. Psalm 107 is a remarkable song of delight extolling God for delivering his people from a variety of troubles. The singer of the psalm passionately pleads with his reader to give thanks to God for he is good; his love endures forever. Give thanks to God for specific incidents when in desperation you cried out to him and he miraculously delivered you.

A believer has his delight in the Almighty; he lifts up his face to God. However, only the true believer can have a constant delight in God. Job asks “For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he may gain much... will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him ? will he delight himself in the almighty ? (Job 27:8-10). For a true believer religion is a delight  but for the hypocrite religion is a very heavy yoke.

To delight in God is to make him your exceeding joy. Peter says “though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8).  David says, "I will go to the altar of God, to God my  exceeding joy” (Ps 43:4). Christians should be such a happy people. Delight in God makes his people strong; the joy of the Lord is their strength (Neh. 8:10). 

A Christian’s delight comforts fellow Christians and cheers them; whereas, if he looks gloomy he will spread the disease. A Christian’s delight gives God honor among men and adorns the gospel. When the unbelievers see Christians joyful, they long to be believers themselves. For all these reasons and for many more it is a good thing that a believer should delight himself in God. 

To delight in the Lord is to desire to be near him. The psalmist said “how lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even  faints for the court of the Lord ; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God...I would rather be a door keeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the  wicked (Ps. 84:1,2,10) . David cried "I spread out my hands to you , my soul longs for you like a thirsty land  (Ps. 143:6).

To cultivate a heart that delights in God is the first step toward the blessed life. If we truly delight in God, we shall seek  his word and eat it;  the word will become a joy and delight in our hearts(Jer. 15:16). We shall long to constantly speak to God through worship and prayers. We shall find it easy to rejoice always, pray without ceasing and to give thank in everything (1 Thess. 5: 17-18). We shall pray on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests (Eph.6:18).

One day Jesus visited the home of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). Mary sat at his feet listening to his words while Martha was distracted, trying to serve him. Jesus said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are troubled about many things. But one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Our Lord desires our delight in him more than our service, our presence more than our presents!

The one thing that is important in time and eternity is to sit lost in delight at our Savior's presence, communing with Him. And as we learn to delight in him, we will desire even more to be in His presence daily. There he will "hide us in the secret place of His presence" (Ps. 31:20). Let us go before His presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms (Ps. 95:2). He will make us "glad with the joy of His presence" (Ps.21:6).

Taking delight in God paints a picture of one who enjoys the Lord, taking pleasure in Him, experiencing satisfaction in Him. David so beautifully puts it in Psalm 16:7-11 " I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope ... in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are the pleasures forevermore.

Take delight in God “acquaint yourself with Him and be at peace. Thereby good will come to you…Then you will lay your gold in the dust…the Almighty will be your  gold and your precious silver ; for then you will have your delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. You will make your prayers to him , he will hear you...you will also declare a thing  and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways" (Job 22).

If you delight in God  he will put your heart into a sweet frame of mind which is a perfect rest from all earthly care; a perfect resignation of yourself into his hands; an intense confidence in his love for you; a divine love for him; so that  you feel you would be anything or do anything for him.

The command to delight yourself in the Lord is followed by a priceless promise -he shall give you the desires of your heart. Those who delight in God are qualified to have the promise fulfilled. Nehemiah may have had this promise in mind when he prayed “Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant…who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man”(Neh. 1:11).

As you spend time in God’s presence, you learn his ways and his will. Your heart is transformed and his desires become your desires. And as your desires synchronizes with His will it will be granted. Take delight not in health, or wealth, or position, or friends, or in anything that is changeable but in the unchangeable God.

In this world you will be exposed to many perplexing situations which you can never be sure to avoid; they are things common to men. But, by your delighting in God, you will easily be able to endure whatever comes your way. Besides all this, consider how pleasant it will be to face death knowing that you are going to him with whom you have lived in a delightful communion.