Beloved,
Have you ever pondered the fact that God commands us to delight?
“Delight yourself in the LORD” (Ps. 37:4).
Does that not strike you as a bit strange?
In the entirety of my parenting life, I have never once sat a bowl of ice cream in front of one of my boys and said, “Now look here. I used my hard-earned money to buy this and so you better enjoy it or there will be serious consequences.”
Why not? For at least two reasons.
First, such exhortations are entirely unnecessary. My boys don’t need to be commanded to relish in the chocolatey deliciousness. Unless they are out of their minds, they will naturally delight in it.
Second, such exhortations are entirely unfruitful. Let’s say that Canon is one of those strange types that only likes vanilla. Commanding him to delight as I shove a spoonful of triple chocolate chunk in his mouth is not going to produce the desired result.
So why does God command our delight? For at least two reasons.
First, such exhortations are entirely necessary. By nature, we are in a far worse condition than vanilla-only types. In Adam, we are averse to the soul-satisfying sweetness of the Triune God who is our very life. And even after coming to Christ, our hearts are still so slow to relish in His fullness and beauty. We need to be commanded because delighting in God is not something our hearts will do left to themselves.
Second, such exhortations are entirely fruitful. My word has no power to change a vanilla-only Canon into a chocolate-delighting Canon. But God’s word has the power to effect what it commands. So that when that command reaches us in the power of the Spirit, we recognize it as a most glorious invitation and respond in joy. Psalm 37:4 is like the owner of Clumpies inviting you in after hours and commanding, “Cones on me tonight. Eat to your heart’s content!”
Our third core principle as a church is God-delighting piety. In unpacking it, we have talked a lot about piety. But we cannot fail to recognize, even as we saw in the sermon last Sunday morning, that true godliness always flows from a heart that is delighting in God as its blessedness and exceeding great reward. That means our willful sin is always the result of a failure to delight in Him. It is an idolatrous seeking of soul-satisfaction in something other than Him or in something apart from Him. But when we are tasting and enjoying His sweetness in the gospel, we cannot help but live unto His glory. That is why if you look at the whole of Psalm 37, throughout David draws a stark contrast between the righteous and the unrighteous. It is the righteous alone who delight in God. It is the godly alone who feast upon His soul-satisfying beauty.
Is that not what we desire to be known for as a congregation, Cornerstone? A church that is corporately and comprehensively delighting in and thereby reflecting the singular God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? May God make it so more and more in us.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Nick
