Psalms
So we could pick 100 verses and never cover the mindset revealed in the Psalms. So how will I narrow down to one verse to reveal the heart of the Psalms? Valid question. We see the struggles of King David revealed in the Psalms. We see Eschatological issues exposed that don’t make sense without a larger context. I have to confess for the first ten or fifteen years of my salvation I wrestled with David being (it seemed to me at least) whiney (sorry David). Twenty years more into my salvation and God has been gracious enough to give me difficulty, nothing compared to David’s and I find myself living my own difficulty’s and you guessed it I’m whiney. God has revealed through a lot of what David (among others) has written, that even though his sins were many, he was still a man after God’s heart. That encourages me greatly. Not only are my sins many but God’s grace is all encompassing and in light of that I can still be a man after Gods heart. This brings me to the verse that I think best epitomizes the Psalms and it is found in Psalms 37:4.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
This verse holds a lot more than face value will allow. I’ve read through “Desiring God” by John Piper and I just recently started re-listening to it. If you have a chance read it. Piper develops what it means to be a Christian Hedonist. Now at face value the definition of Hedonism maintains that the “doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life” (Webster). Piper maintains this definition but fills the blanks a little different with the adjective of “Christian” Hedonist. That is we pursue pleasure and happiness in being Christian (follower of Christ). The greatest pleasure is sought and received in delighting in the Lord and God fulfills His part of the equation by giving us desires in our heart that are satisfied in Him and Him alone. This pretty much equates with the Westminster Catechism that maintains the chief end of man is to know God and enjoy Him forever. (other similar passages Job 22:26; Isa. 58:14; Phil. 3:1; 4:4)
Piper maintains and develops that “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him”. There’s a lot to think about with all this and I hope I’ve at least whetted your appetite what it means to delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.