You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Psalm 1’ tag.
When we try to describe God, we often use words like “Almighty”, “All Powerful”, All Knowing”. I have never heard anyone describe God as All-Delightsome, at least not until about a week ago when I was reading Thomas a Kempis and his book The Imitation of Christ, written in the 15th century. When I read that word, I was, well, delighted. What a fun, unique way to say “happy”. Merriam-Webster defines delight as a high degree of gratification or pleasure: joy. Extreme satisfaction. This same dictionary defines delightsome as very pleasing: delightful. Dictionary.com says that the word is from the 1200’s and meant a high degree of pleasure or satisfaction.
Thomas a Kempis wrote, “For thou, O Lord, my God, art best above all things; Thou only art the Most High, Thou only the Almighty, Thou only the All-sufficient, and the Fulness of all things; Thou only the All-delightsome and the All-comforting.”
I love thinking about God as All-delightsome. He is the ultimate source of gratification, pleasure, joy and satisfaction. Of course Thomas a Kempis didn’t originate the idea that God is delightful, or that he is a source of delight and that he can be delighted by his people. The Bible says:
Happy is the one whose … delight is in the instruction of the Lord. Psalm 1:1,2
Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
who find great delight in his commands. Psalm 112:1
The Lord detests lying lips,
but he delights in people who are trustworthy. Proverbs 18:2
For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory. Psalm 149:4
Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. Micah 7:18
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness. Isaiah 61:10
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
Imagine that. God takes delight in people like you and me. That means he finds great pleasure and satisfaction in those of us who are humble and trustworthy. There are a multitude of reasons for us to delight in God, but I never thought that God would delight in us!
Thomas a Kempis found God’s rest particularly delightsome. He writes in this same meditation, “my heart cannot truly rest nor be entirely content, except it rest in Thee, and go beyond all gifts and every creature.”
His final thoughts reflect his happiness at God’s delightsomeness, “Excellent are Thy works, true are Thy judgments, and by Thy providence are things governed. Therefore praise and glory be unto Thee, O Wisdom of the Father, let my mouth and my soul and all created things praise and bless Thee together.”
Great advice for all of us. Have a delightsome day!
To Enjoy God 