Taking Delight in the Lord (Psalm 37,4)

Psalm 37 is a key Psalm in many respects. It teaches the righteous person to be patient when wicked are in power because the Lord knows the days of the righteous and their vindication will come. The Psalm also teaches that despite the bleakest of circumstances inward and outward one is to take delight in the Lord. We rejoice in the Lord in afflictions and in great difficulties. It is like Job's test...shall we serve the Lord only when things are going well and the road is smooth? Shall we not love the Lord in good and bad times?
The psalmist in Ps37 is in no doubt that he has to delight in the Lord and not fret at the wicked or worry about the fury of his enemies. Taking delight comes with a promise, a promise that God will grant our heart's desires for righteousness to be exalted and justice restored. The psalmist by delighting in the Lord is putting his trust in the Lord despite what he sees with his eyes how the wicked seem to prosper and the righteous suffers. The psalmist takes delight in the Lord because he knows who God is, a God who will not allow wickedness to prevail and will put the righteous in his rightful place. The psalmist delights in the Lord because he senses the Lord's presence when He seems to hide His face from His people. LORD You are a God who hides Himself. The psalmist delights in the Lord because he is taken care of by the Lord despite being ignored and despised by his own kindred and his own people. A prophet is not without honour except in his household and his country. The psalmist delights in the Lord because he has seen how God dealt with the wicked when he tried to find them but they were no more. He delights in his God because He is a God of righteousness which the righteous yearns to be just like their God.