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Many of us are familiar with this Bible verse, used frequently to justify lavish living and material blessings:
37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
This passage does seem to promise a blank check to the believer. Yet God isn't merely a genie in a bottle granting unlimited wishes for wealth and happiness. Many scriptures elsewhere dispel this myth (Rom 8:17, 2 Thes 1:14, etc.), plus experience also confirms it when we see impoverished and persecuted believers around the world.
As I reflected on this scripture in the still of the morning yesterday, I felt the Spirit speaking to me about my desires and my delight. I saw that when the source of my delight is my personal relationship with God.....when I delight in my Lord and Savior, Maker and Redeemer, and Provider and Protector.....the desire of my heart becomes more of him, which he gladly offers! With God there is no beginning and no end, no limits, so there is always more of him to receive! The true seeker never fails to find, the Lord never fails to deliver.
11:10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
There are no limitations on what the Lord can give but in what we can receive. Contrast this with human relationships, where people always put limits on how much of themselves they give...necessarily. People have to draw the line somewhere. If they don't, the over-amorous lover or the over-attached friend can cause them to feel cramped, crowded, smothered, stalked, suspicious, etc. Even spouses typically stake a claim on the need for space!
So in human relationships, limits are a reality....and not necessarily a bad thing either, given the state of humanity. But with God? No limits! I guarantee you that if HE is our delight, we will most definitely receive the desires of our heart....more and more of HIM....complete joy!!
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Cheryl |
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June 12, 2008 at 5:45am |
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Seek ye first the kingdom of God and then all these things will be added....
EXCELLENT blog my fav tv pic brother! |
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| Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
DESIRES OF YOUR HEART(keywords). We have to figure out what the desires of our heart are!!!! If the desires are worldly, let the world give it to you, but if the desires are to grow more in Christ, to know more of Him, to be more like Him, then we shall receive it. It is not about the here and now, it more about the hereafter(is that a word?).
In the receiving of Him and His desires for our life, He will supply the necessary tools we need here to accomplish His will. That is where some of us get confused(I think). The materialistic tools that are supplied by Him seems to be abused in the sense of greediness and power by some. They are blinded by the abundance and get pulled back into the world instead of using them for the Kingdom.
He shall supply ALL OF MY NEEDS. Some of us seem to think that the meagerness of our possessions is not enough to do the will of the Father. He has supplied us with what we need to do His will that He has for US. We may not need all of the money, etc that others have to accomplish what He has planned for you and me to do. Seems unfair??? I don't think so. We may not think that what we have to do is large enough, but it is what He sees in us, where we are at in our life, what His purpose is that makes it large and purposeful.
In the end to do His will, to serve ONLY Him, His giving is UNLIMITED......
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| Great post. Thank you for the reminder. Special Blessings |
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| Good post for me today :) thanks! |
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| Another great word from the Lord! I posted a blog today of something you wrote the other-day "BE STILL" give it a look, and thanks . |
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Mike, one thing that frustrates me as a Christian are people who take Scriptures out of context in order to justify the prosperity gospel (you got me on my soap box lol). IWhat I find interesting is the proponents of the prosperity gospel will say that those who who are not rich or not healed suffer from a lack of faith. They will say to those who counter their position that they are being religious. If my memory serves me correctly, it was the Pharisees who looked down on people who were not rich and not healed.
Luke 16:14 - The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.
Following this passage Jesus then taught the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) in order to communicate to his hearers that Lazarus' lack of finances was not related to his spiritual condition.
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| He puts those desires in us, so of course He will gladly give them to us. |
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Glenn |
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June 12, 2008 at 6:55am |
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Amen, my friend, Amen. God will indeed give us the desire of our hearts when we are truly seeking Him first!. Once again I will say thanks for the reminder!
peace |
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Ed |
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June 12, 2008 at 7:06am |
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| Exactly! It's all in how you digest God's Word. "...when I delight in my Lord and Savior, Maker and Redeemer, and Provider and Protector.....the desire of my heart becomes more of him..." says it all! Thanks, Mike--good blog! |
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stu |
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June 12, 2008 at 7:15am |
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| Mike when we begin to understand ETERNITY rather than the temporal we can see that our requests to God need to be based on this understanding! He will give us knowledge, wisdom and understanding as we give in to Him completely! Great blog Brother! love Stu. |
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Deb |
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June 12, 2008 at 7:35am |
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| I am learning to do this more and more. This scripture is one that needs to be searched and broken down to find the true meaning. Like you said, God is not a genie who exists solely to give us our every desire. Right now, as you know, I am taking care of a sick cat, and I would be more than happy if God decided to perform a miracle, but I have to look for my peace in Him, not in the healing of my cat. If God chooses to heal him, then wonderful, but if not, I will stil delight in my Lord and Savior, and remember that this moment in time is but a blip on eternity. |
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stu |
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June 12, 2008 at 7:37am |
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| A vapour in the wind! |
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Lovely comments, thanks friends! Deb, I have a feeling that when we truly delight ourselves in the Lord, our problems, trials, persecutions etc. pale in comparison, they seem so small, so manageable, so easy to overcome. That's just a hunch, b/c I'm not going through any major trials right now. That isn't to say we don't experience pain, even great pain, at times. Really, who am I to be telling you this anyway. I admit -- I'm only beginning to scratch the surface of this God we serve together! God bless you, lovely lady! Stu -- right on brother! His understanding, not ours. |
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Pastor Tim, this is clearly not new ground for you! Thanks Ed, thanks Glenn! I appreciate you! Thanks CindeeLoo, Tina and Patrick!! Lara, interesting point, so succinctly made. He's both the source and fulfillment of the need! Keith, thank you, and I'm going there as soon as I finish typing this |
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Thank you to you too Cher...you inspire me! Steve, it's difficult to see beyond today. Most of the last 40(or so) years I've struggled with this! |
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| Mary, thank you for such an insightful comment! My eyes are so easily drawn from my Savior, I curse that about myself! The "tools he provides" for his work easily become a distraction to me. Thanks for tellin it straight up, Mary! We all need to hear it! |
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Why would anyone want to tackle the Christian life ALONE!? And yet, so many try. I thank God for each and every reader and commenter to this blog (and the star-ers too), you all remind me that my true delight is in the Lord, who provided me with YOU!! |
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| God WANTS to give us the desires of our hearts, just as we want to do the same for our children. Sometimes we know that giving them something is not in their best interest, even though they feel like they just have to have it. We have to remember that it is the same with God. While He does want to give us what we desire, He knows best. And I have (FINALLY!) figured out that if God doesn't give me what I want, I shouldn't have been wanting it in the first place! Because the things that He DOES give me are always WAY better than the things I wanted for myself! He truly knows best, and though it took me almost 50 years to figure it out, I can rest in that peace now. |
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Carol, your experience is similar to mine. Why am I so darn slow?!?!?? (Slower than you, sister!) "if God doesn't give me what I want, I shouldn't have been wanting it in the first place" ...Carol, this is profound! I mean....think about it! (I'm sure you did, I'm just pondering it myself.) |
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Grant |
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June 12, 2008 at 8:31am |
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Very interesting play on words Mike. I like the thoughts. Part of the Word Biblical Commentary on this passage in Psalm 37:4 is also interesting as is their commentary on Luke 11:10.
Psalm 37:4
"In the short run, the wicked seem to prosper, whereas the righteous very often seem to suffer at their hands. But it is the longer run that counts, and in the long run the only true satisfaction is to be found in the righteousness which is the hallmark of the one who lives in relationship with the living God."
[Craigie, P. C. (2002). Vol. 19: Word Biblical Commentary : Psalms 1-50. Word Biblical Commentary (299). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.]
Luke 11:10
"v v 9 and 10 form the centerpiece of a development of thought that runs from v 5 through to v 13. The fact that in our need we will find God yet more reliable than any friend (vv 5–8) prepares for the challenge to venture with God, with its accompanying promise of his action in answer to our requests (v v 9–10). Challenge and promise are additionally buttressed by a comparison between the Fatherhood of God and human fatherhood: as our Father, God will respond to our requests with more appropriateness and generosity than we do to the requests of our children; he will not even withhold his Holy Spirit from those who make request to him."
[Nolland, J. (2002). Vol. 35B: Word Biblical Commentary : Luke 9:21-18:34. Word Biblical Commentary (632). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.] |
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| Grant, I am honored by your input, thank you. Very interesting to read what these commentators have to say, thanks for taking the time to post them. I value what they have to say! |
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I was kind of disapointed with those scriptures as I was trying the Jeanie in the bottle thingie, but the more I seek the more I change, as do the desires of my heart.
Blessings,
David
P.S. Thanks one and all for your prayers as things improve. I really like being able to see better it makes it easier to abade in his word. |
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"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Do you suppose we don't fully 'receive' because we don't fully recognize the true desires of our hearts being manifested... the 'desires' being HIM, His Presence, His Truth, as you said? Is the Church ready to receive more of HIM or will they (we) continue to run around wanting more 'stuff'?
You have touched on a timely subject: desires of the flesh vs desires of the spirit. The 'fleshly' man, like you said, sees a blank check (limited). The spiritual man sees more relationship with HIM (Who is more than we could ever ask or imagine, unlimited). This is the revelation the Church has been NEEDING for so long; to come out from among the religious crowd and touch (seek) the hem of His garment.
(I share a soap box with Pastor Tim, ha ha!)
I recognize the anointing on this message, it's deeper and more powerful than a two edged sword... it's TRUTH; I value what He's given YOU to say. POWERFUL, Mike... 1,000 stars, or should I say, "Unlimited STARS".
Blessings on you and your family today...
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| I love that verse... when I first became a Christian I made a point of speaking to my non Christian employer...trying my hand at evagelizing... well that still hasnt worked (Im still working in the same place and he has yet to make that descision to follow Christ) however, a few years later during a time when he was passing out gifts to employees ...I beleive it was for Christmas, he gave me a beautifully framed version of this verse. I doubt he even really understands what that meant to me... to get a word from my loving Lord through someone that didnt even know Him. This is an awesome blog Mike. Thank you. :0) |
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great word.....often doesn't fit in todays culture and mindset....gimme gimme, my name is Jimmy!
and by the way, I'd like it FAST! ~Mcdonald's DriveThru Mentality~ lends itself to a DriveThru BreakThrough Mentality...
Tam |
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| This has been a favorite of mine for years -- delight thyself in the LORD -- because when I am delighted in knowing Him and in paying attention to what He has placed in my life, He is delighted in me for seeking that relationship and for gratefully acknowledging His hand in my life. and He will give thee the desires and secret petitions of thine heart -- We all have those deep and secret yearnings, that are rooted in knowing that what God has done for us can be done for those we love. Sometimes those yearnings are so private that we don't speak them out loud to anyone else -- they're just the little groans of our heart. To know that God just as fervently yearns to give us those secret petitions makes it even more precious to delight in Him. |
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amen. Delight yourself in the Lord and your desires will be the same as His!!!
theresa |
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GrammyB, what a lovely comment! "just the little groans of our heart"....."yearnings...so private that we don't speak them out loud to anyone else" -- that's a beautiful way to say "my deepest longings". Thanks for blessing me!
Theresa, so glad you enjoyed the read and shared your heart. God bless!!
prog_etc....a comment! Awesome! You can do this MyChurch thing!!! (I really appreciate hearing from you, Tam.) |
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| Robin, wow, what a story. Yep, more evidence that the Lord can use anybody at all! Thanks for sharing that, it blesses my heart. |
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| Melanie, you bless me once again. I hope God's rewarding you richly for the part you play in encouraging so many people. Your affirmations are worth more than gold, sis. |
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Thanks Kim!
You know, I've known the Lord for many years, and I've had many peaks and valleys in those years. But I wonder how often I've actually delighted in God.... I mean, no music, nothing but God and his goodness. This is a good place! |
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I love it! Amen Pastor Mike, amen! Pastor Aminata |
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Mike n Laura, This could not have been said any better. Thank you! Janet |
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| Great post Mike.... I am glad I was able to read it before my trip with my husband this weekend. I will be meditating on this word for my drive tonight.... as a true desire of my heart is for my husband to know Jesus. BTW I picked up that CD from church. I already listened to it two more times. In case Chris has any questions, I might be ready with an answer. Thanks for your prayers. |
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| Love it Mike..The holy spirit sure does speak through you strongily. |
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Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
De-light yourself in the Lord means to take the spotlight off of you.
Jesus said, "If any man would come after me..." (passionately, eagerly, whole-heartedly pursue the relationship) "...let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me."
Denying yourself, taking up your cross and following Jesus is impossible in the flesh. Looking at that singularly (me) it appears a great sacrifice, very costly, almost unreasonable.
Delight yourself in your spouse and your spouse will give you the desires of your heart.
Do I always get what I want? Of course not. But I always have the love and respect of my wife which I need. Has life always been easy? No! Not for the last few years in particular. But in ways thru the adversity we have drawn closer.
Not every spouse who delights themself in their spouse gets the desires of their heart. For this to work it takes both delighting themselves in the other. If one is selfish all the efforts of the other will never be enough. Sadly, too many brethren reading these words know the brutal truth of these words.
Jesus has done so much. He denied Himself. He took up a Cross. And He died so we could live. Yet when He offers us the opportunity to come out of ourselves we hesitate. We may follow to the Garden of Gethsamane but never come to the place of "Not my will but Thine."
What more could He have done? What more can I do?
Luke 11:10 For everyone (plural) who asks receives; he (singular) who seeks finds; and to him (singular) who knocks, the door will be opened.
Everyone receives. It is like we all receive a map to our new home (a place GOD has for us) when we receive Christ. It has already been paid for by His precious Blood. But we are kind of comfortable where we are. Or at least we are familiar with it. Besides, the taxes are high (all of me).
Everyone receives but not everyone seeks.
But those who seek do find and when they knock doors open.
Two people can go thru identical circumstances. One will see obstacles the other opportunity. One will say, "Woe is me." the other will say, "Whoa, Lord, now what?" One will stress over the storm the other fell asleep beside Jesus below deck. One will say, "No way, Lord!" the other will say, "Your way, Lord."
The difference?
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
.....peace.....
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Angie |
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June 14, 2008 at 5:20pm |
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This really made me pause and think.....what should our true desire be and absolutely you are correct, when we seek the Lord with all of your heart we shall find him- and he shall give us everything we need- the focus should not be on the physical- although that is nice-- he equips us with everything we need spiritually to make it in this world- great word! |
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Awesome post as always.. thanks for sharing |
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"De-light yourself in the Lord means to take the spotlight off of you."
Funny, Gordon. I just got this. Man am I slow sometimes. |
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PARoss |
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June 19, 2008 at 1:24pm |
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The trick to get what you want from the Lord is to want for yourself what He wants for you. Pray to desire what He wants for you. And if you don't know what God wants for you, read up on it. He sent a Book about Himself. Don't wait for Him to "zap" you with some kinda secret message. It's not a secret! Love is proactive. Take the initative by getting into the Book. Having said that, it must be acknowledged that the Book is not an easy read, and even harder to read right. It takes practice. It's an art. And art is a discipline. |
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| Thanks Phil, your knowledge and wisdom is always welcome here! |
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I think you people 'delight' in what God can give us too much. I am not disputing that God is an endless fountain of gifts and happiness. What bothers me about spewing "God is good", God is great", "God is SOOOOO wonderful" is that a relationship is two sided. What will we do to earn those gifts?
James 2:26 For as the body without the aspirit is bdead, so faith without cworks is dead also.
I believe that we all know that God is wonderful. What some don't understand is the law of sacrifice it takes to receive what He has to offer. Nothing is for free. If God will stand by and let us murder and cheat each other through our own free agency, then He will wait patiently for us to learn from the obstacles that He has allowed us to overcome in our own personal lives. We are here to learn. We can receive much by asking, learning how to overcome, and being obedient. Obedience is the one of the greatest gifts that we can give Him.
Just my 2 cents.
Seeking = Faith & Obedience |
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Interesting comment, driveswith... ! There is definitely wisdom in what you write. May I ask, what makes you think the folks here (I assume you refer to those who have commented, as well as me) don't realize faith begs action? I doubt any of us would argue with James--definitely not me! On this site you will find many blogs delighting in God, b/c people tend to write about what excites them. Read through the blogs though, and I'm sure you will also see the "other" side of the relationship with God, as you put it. God bless! |
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| As the deer pants for the water so my soul longs after You. When we find our delight in the LORD we will find that He is the desire of our heart. What is that verse Mike? At thy right hand are pleasures for evermore? I'll look it up. Anyway, as we get to know Him intimately He reveals Himself to us. What on this earth could compare to His glory and freindship anyway? |
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| Pretty exciting, isn't it Todd? For years I neglected so great a salvation. Now I find the real desires of my heart. God was patient, and merciful. Praise him! |
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I should not have said 'you people'. I only meant to say that there are some that believe....
My only concern is the insinuation of guarantees without mentioning the work that it takes to get those rewards. You mention that God has so much to offer; His offerings are endless, but you don't mention that worship is more than a verbal commitment or feeling joy. I have found that there are different degrees of joy. A few of the lesser degrees of joy are peace and comfort. Some of the greater feelings of joy are being spiritually reborn, true repentance, and the service of others, to name a few. Knowledge of His love and gifts is a great comfort. The greater feelings of joy come with action. THIS is how we get to know Him intimately. It's more than just speaking fluffy words. Sometimes, I think that when it comes to His gospel, people just go straight to the desert. And, the desert is all they talk about.
Peace. |
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| Thanks for clarifying, dwk. I certainly don't disagree that much more is "required" of us than talk. (case in point, 1 John 3:18) But all that action comes from some type of motivation. So a much longer blog than the one written above would have probably explored in detail what it means to "delight in the Lord" (the mechanics of it, if you will), as well as the specific results in the life of the one who does so. I chose to limit my writing to the source of delight, and the resulting rewards. Thanks for adding a dimension to my blog that was lacking! |
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16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; In thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psalm 17 A Prayer of David.
This was the verse I was thinking of. There is pleasure in God. |
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